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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Butterflies and Skippers (Papilionoidea) » Swallowtails, Parnassians (Papilionidae) » Papilioninae » Fluted Swallowtails (Papilionini) » Papilio » Black Swallowtail - Hodges#4159 (Papilio polyxenes) » Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes asterius)
Photo#74957
Caterpillar - Papilio polyxenes
Copyright © 2006 David E. Reed

Caterpillar - Papilio polyxenes
Bailey island, Cumberland County, Maine, USA
August 31, 2006
Size: ~10mm
Very small Caterpillar on Goldenrod. Can't find anything like it in Wagner.

Images of this individual: tag all
Caterpillar - Papilio polyxenes Caterpillar - Papilio polyxenes Caterpillar - Papilio polyxenes
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Contributed by David E. Reed on 4 September, 2006 - 9:08am
Last updated 8 July, 2009 - 6:05pm

Very odd!
Do they actually feed on goldenrod? Never heard such a thing.
… Beatriz Moisset, 4 November, 2009 - 7:18pm login or register to post comments

 
Sometimes they wander,
but no, they don't feed on Goldenrod. Only things in the Carrot and Rue Families (that I'm aware of). Baird's Swallowtail (close relative) feeds on certain Composites, but nothing closely related to Goldenrod. I have no idea if they could survive on this plant if there is no other choice left them.
… David J. Ferguson, 9 November, 2009 - 5:55pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Black Swallowtail.
… David J. Ferguson, 8 July, 2009 - 6:05pm login or register to post comments

Hmmm
Looks VERY like a second instar Black Swallowtail, except they usually have a more hunched up appearance, head not showing. If it was trying to find its way back to a host plant, that might account for the strange stretched-out position, I guess. Compare:

… Hannah Nendick-Mason, 4 September, 2006 - 10:26am login or register to post comments

 
Black Swallowtail
Thanks. That surely is it. I've added a third view with the more classical pose.
… David E. Reed, 4 September, 2006 - 10:40am login or register to post comments

 
The only similar caterpillar I've found listed is
Old World Swallowtail - and you are far from the range of that one. So I think it's safe to move this to the guide as Black Swallowtail - and I've done so.
… Hannah Nendick-Mason, 5 September, 2006 - 6:47pm login or register to post comments

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