Subject: Caterpie
Location: Central Texas
April 15, 2017 9:08 am
This little guy was outside of my house. I was curious to what he is. When I poked him he let out a forked “horn”. What is he?
Signature: Jorge
Dear Jorge,
This is the caterpillar of a species from a group of butterflies in the genus Papilio known collectively as Tiger Swallowtails. The ranges of several species overlap in Texas and their caterpillars look quite similar. We do not have the necessary skills to provide you with the exact species of your Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar. We can tell you that the “forked ‘horn'” you observed is a scent organ called the osmeterium that gives off a foul odor in order to deter predators.