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Photo#589385
Black Swallowtail Caterpillar, Second Instar? - Papilio polyxenes

Black Swallowtail Caterpillar, Second Instar? - Papilio polyxenes
Duncannon, Perry County, Pennsylvania, USA
October 22, 2011
Size: approximately 1 1/2 inch
I found this beauty today on a dill plant. Is this a black swallowtail caterpillar, early instar (perhaps second? If not, please identify to species level please. Also, the temps are in the high 50's or low 60's during the day and low 40's at night. Well he or she overwinter as a chrysalis?

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

The species is correct,
but it is much older than 2nd instar. It is probably 4th. Sometimes they are very dark, or brown, instead of predominantly green. The first two instars look basically like a bird dropping, and the striping begins to become distinctly developed in the third. The early instars have tubercles that become less developed with each successive instar.

 
Thank you..
..Mr. Ferguson, for your detailed explanation. The variation in colors threw me - I thought it should be green. It is a chrysalis today, BTW :)

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