Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
BugGuide Gathering
Pack Forest
Washington State
July 10-12, 2009
Details...

Photos from the 2009 gathering
 
Photos from the 2008 gathering in Tennessee
 
Photos from the 2007 gathering in Minnesota

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Butterflies (excluding skippers) (Papilionoidea) » Swallowtails, Parnassians (Papilionidae) » Papilioninae » Papilio » Palamedes Swallowtail (Papilio palamedes)
Photo#286594
unknown caterpillar - Papilio palamedes
Copyright © 2009 Neal Ward

unknown caterpillar - Papilio palamedes
Nags Head, Dare County, North Carolina, USA
June 10, 2009
Size: 2.5cm
Looks like a type of Swallowtail caterpillar, but was having trouble narrowing it down to a specific species. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Images of this individual: tag all
unknown caterpillar - Papilio palamedes unknown caterpillar - Papilio palamedes
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by H Smith on 10 June, 2009 - 4:22pm
Last updated 8 July, 2009 - 6:48pm

Moved
Moved from Butterflies (excluding skippers).
… David J. Ferguson, 8 July, 2009 - 6:48pm login or register to post comments

Thanks
I appreciate all the feedback! I was leaning more towards palamedes after more research and lucky for me, this guy changed instars and is now a text book picture of a Palamedes Swallowtail caterpillar. :-)
… H Smith, 14 June, 2009 - 6:38pm login or register to post comments

I'd go with
P. palamedes
… David J. Ferguson, 13 June, 2009 - 2:05pm login or register to post comments

Swallowtail looks right
here are similar images on BG
Papilio glaucus, Easetern Tiger swallowtail

or
your other option is spicebush swallowtail, aka Papilio trolius


there is also palamedes, which looks like a very close match
… Nina, 10 June, 2009 - 8:32pm login or register to post comments

The leaf looks like
Sweet Bay Magnolia, (Magnolia virginiana). If so, this is a common host plant for Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
… Bob Barber, 10 June, 2009 - 6:15pm login or register to post comments

 
Could it be Camphor?
I find P. troilus on Camphor all the time here in New Orleans.
… Mark Fox, 14 June, 2009 - 6:02pm login or register to post comments

Swallowtail
Yeah it is a Swallowtail, but i do not know the specific species either.
… Jeremy Miller, 10 June, 2009 - 5:59pm login or register to post comments

Wow, great caterpillar
I saw this image and thought it was a decapitated lizard head!
… Vespula vulgaris, 10 June, 2009 - 5:20pm login or register to post comments

 
...
I'm scared!
… WonGun Kim, 10 June, 2009 - 5:34pm login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2009 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by Iowa State University Entomology.

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Site Map
Contact