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Wildlife Spotting

Photo by Charles72
Published on Project Noah
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32.1938, -80.7382

Field Notes

Notes:

I found this on a leaf outside. Somebody told me it might be a slug, and those arent actually eyes, they are fake. The front of it is actually the white part which I thought was the back!

Species ID Suggestions

Spicebush Swallowtail

Papilio troilus

Reference Link
freelancing
1

Comments (7)
freelancing
In the early larvae stages, the spicebush swallowtail looks like a bird dropping - then will morph slightly to get eye spots. Looks like you got it between these stages. Great spotting! The spicebush swallowtails are hyper butterflies. I used video to capture one having a sugar-induced fit around the blossoms on my Silverado Sage plant. It never sat still so I could take a clear still photo.
Maria dB
love the third and fifth photos especially
Mandy Hollman
Awesome! It might be some kind of Swallowtail caterpillar.
Anne Marie McCaffrey
Those "eyes" are meant to fool predators. It's a caterpillar, but I don't which species.
Photographed
PublishedMay 4, 2012

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