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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Butterflies (excluding skippers) (Papilionoidea) » Swallowtails, Parnassians (Papilionidae) » Papilioninae » Papilio
Photo#320875
caterpillar - Papilio
Copyright © 2009 Ilona L.

caterpillar - Papilio
Cross Plains, Dane County, Wisconsin, USA
August 15, 2009
Size: ~10mm
This caterpillar was found on the topside of leaf that could be a species of cherry but it didn't look like the caterpillar was feeding on the leaf.

Images of this individual: tag all
caterpillar - Papilio caterpillar - Papilio
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Contributed by Ilona L. on 16 August, 2009 - 11:41am
Last updated 7 September, 2009 - 9:24pm

Moved
Moved from Butterflies and Moths.
… john and jane balaban, 7 September, 2009 - 9:24pm login or register to post comments

speculation: Limenitis?
I wonder if this might be an early-instar Viceroy (Limenitis archippus or White/Red-Spotted Purple Admiral (L. arthemis). They are all bird-dropping mimics, and have warty bumps with scoli (branched spines) growing out of them - I notice some bristly setae on the bump on the 8th abdominal segment.

This is the earliest instar Limenitis photo I could find on the Guide - your caterpillar has similar features, except the "antlers":

… Abigail M. Parker, 16 August, 2009 - 12:59pm login or register to post comments

Resting, don't know what kind
They spend a lot of time not eating. That posture with head raised off the leaf is typical of the anise swallowtail caterpillars I see in California, which also have the white stripe, but your specimen is less bristly than those.
… G Whiz, 16 August, 2009 - 12:33pm login or register to post comments

 
caterpillar
I am wondering whether this cat might be an early instar of a Giant Swallowtail.
… Ilona L., 16 August, 2009 - 12:54pm login or register to post comments

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