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
Photo#324290
Green Caterpillar - Papilio
Copyright © 2009 John Sloan

Green Caterpillar - Papilio
Whitecourt, Alberta, Canada
August 21, 2009
Size: BL = 2 cm
A brightly colored caterpillar, with subtle pink dots on some segments. An interesting feature is the false eyes seem to come with false eyebrows!
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by John Sloan on 24 August, 2009 - 1:29am
Last updated 23 September, 2009 - 10:01pm

Moved
Moved from Butterflies and Moths.
… john and jane balaban, 23 September, 2009 - 10:01pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… v belov, 21 September, 2009 - 11:22am login or register to post comments

TIGER swallowtail caterpillar?
http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=spicebush+swallowtail&search=Search

looks a bit like a spicebush swallowtail cat, but ones on The Guide seem to have more markings along the dorsum.
AND with more searching....looks MORE like this:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/200532
Tiger Swallowtail...narrowing it down to possibly Eastern TS based on this picture: http://bugguide.net/node/view/214676

Very pretty colors and picture - nice shot!
B
… bdedo, 24 August, 2009 - 10:53am login or register to post comments

 
Spicebush eyespots
The spicebush caterpillar has very realistic eyespots, large and dark with glinting highlights - David Wagner, the man who wrote the book on Eastern caterpillars, says it's the best snake mimic in North America. Tiger swallowtails are pretty good snake mimics, but their eyespots are always smaller and not as vividly detailed as the spicebush.

Either caterpillar is a beauty and quite a find. And the adults are gorgeous, too, which is a nice side benefit :-)

To make a thumbnail image from BugGuide appear in your post, copy the photo number (top left of image) and tag it like this:

[thumb:NUMBER]

So your tiger swallowtail photo link would be tagged

[thumb:214676]

and show up like this:
… Abigail M. Parker, 24 August, 2009 - 11:37am login or register to post comments

 
tiger swallowtail
not spicebush based on smaller eyespots.
… Roar, 24 August, 2009 - 11:12am 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