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Anise Swallowtail Caterpillar

Papilio zelicaon

Photo by Josh Asel
Published on Project Noah
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37.3438, -121.883

Field Notes

Description:

The green eggs are laid singly on plants of the Magnoliaceae and Rosaceae families. Young caterpillars are brown and white; older ones are green with two black, yellow, and blue eyespots on the thorax. The caterpillar will turn brown prior to pupating. It will reach a length of 5.5 centimetres (2.2 in). The chrysalis varies from a whitish color to dark brown. Hibernation occurs in this stage in locations with cold winter months.

Notes:

This beautifully colored little fella was found in a riparian area right smack in the middle of suburban San Jose.

Species ID Suggestions

Anise swallowtail

Papili zelicaon‎

Reference Link
KarenSaxton
2

Comments (5)
maplemoth662
Four, beautiful photos....a beautiful caterpillar....
KarenSaxton
I grew up playing with anise swallowtails and growing them on wild fennel.
ForestDragon
Great series, Joshua! I especially like pictures 2 and 3. :) I love watching them eat! Papilio zelicaon (missing an "o" in the suggestion). I agree with Karen that it is most likely an Anise Swallowtail! Tiger Swallowtail caterpillars look much different than this. Here is another reference for the Anise Swallowtail: http://bugguide.net/node/view/28235 Info on Papilio glaucus for comparison (scroll down the page to see the life stages of the caterpillar): http://bugguide.net/node/view/491
KarenSaxton
This late in the year? That tops my Painted Lady adult in Bandon Or, however that is an anise swallowtail, as per visual id and the food. Tiger's feed on tree leaves http://www.desertusa.com/mag00/mar/papr/bfly.html

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Photographed
PublishedNovember 26, 2013

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