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Common Mormom

Papilio polytes romulus

Photo by VivBraznell
Published on Project Noah
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Field Notes

Description:

I only ever see this creature eating the leaves of a plant in the citrus family here in the garden

Species ID Suggestions

Common mormom

Papilio polytes romulus

Reference Link
auntnance123
0

Comments (6)
VivBraznell
Thank you for the ident auntnance 123 ......... answered another ident for me as well.
alicelongmartin
It is quite likely a Giant Swallowtail as they lay their eggs on Citris and look like Bird Scat as a defense against being eaten!
craigwilliams
Nice work auntnance! Great link too, that's quite a transformation from 4th to 5th instar.
LarryGraziano
We have a similar one here in Costa Rica. It has a bright red forked "tongue" and emits an awfully strong smell when molested. I haven't seen any recently in my citrus trees but I am looking.
auntnance123
It's probably a swallowtail of some kind: the early caterpillars often mimic bird droppings and some are notorius consumers of citrus. This one is particularly cool for the pairs of horns.
craigwilliams
Looks like an early instar of a pretty cool caterpillar. What's the underside like?
Photographed
PublishedNovember 3, 2011

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