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1d • 🦋Wildlife
🐛 An Unexpected Guest 🦋
How fun is it to run across one of nature’s wonders and get to do a little research and learning?
My friend came across this little beauty last night hanging out on his garbage can lid. When he first saw this critter, they had two little “horns” sticking out, but quickly retracted them.
My brave friend even tried the highly scientific method of poking them with his finger between the eyespots to see if he could get the horns to come back out. He failed. And knowing what we know now, that may have been a good thing because it could have caused a bit of a stink for him. 😂
This little dude or dudette is a Western Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar.
Those big yellow and black “eyes” are called eyespots, part of what researchers describe as snake mimicry. The caterpillar can also pull its actual head in and swell the front of its body, making that fake snake face even more convincing to a potential predator.
And those retractable horns? They're called an osmeterium, a forked defensive organ found in swallowtail caterpillars. When they feel threatened, they can pop it out and release a strong odor designed to make a predator reconsider its dinner plans.
And then there is my favorite part.
That funny pinkish-red thing that looks like this caterpillar is sticking its tongue out at the camera? That's actually the head and mouth sitting just below that big fake snake face. Caterpillars don't have a tongue like ours, despite what this photo would have you believe.
I had ChatGPT break the picture down for me because my brain simply could NOT stop seeing yellow lips and a tongue sticking out. 😂 I'll include that graphic too for your learning enjoyment.
And because this caterpillar is already big and mature, finding it wandering somewhere like a garbage can instead of on a host tree or shrub such as willow, cottonwood, aspen, alder, sycamore, cherry, or ash may mean it was searching for a protected place to form its chrysalis.
One unexpected visitor on a garbage can turned into a whole lesson about mimicry, defense, metamorphosis and just how incredibly creative nature can be. 🐛💚🦋
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🐛 An Unexpected Guest 🦋
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