Swallowtail larvae

Thank you again, EarlyStages. Now I know where all those Papilio butterflies I see around come from.

Hi Martin. Yes, we have Papilios here, and you are right of course. I went to the place I spoted these today, but I couldn't find the larvae. But I'll keep trying, I think it will be interesting.

asergio I suggest these are larvae of a butterfly. Many papilio larvae mimic bird droppings, as these do. I do not know the new world papilio's (swallowtils) but I think you have one (actually, four). They are probably early instars and will change as they go through successive molts. This link is not an ID, only a pointer. http://bugguide.net/node/view/370856

Argybee, I am very glad to know you think my work is good. The main reason I keep posting things here is to show a bit of that variety. Pictures I've been posting the last seven or eight days were all taken in a place with around 1 acre. Only problem is that the critters like to live in the bottom of the leaves, and I am tired of turn them upside down... :)

Wow. I need to get my mind around such density of life. Must be a great place to observe things. Keep up the good work. Thanks.

Well argybee, I don't know the name of the plant, but it isn't a vine. It is a medium sized bush, around 1,20 meters tall, with large leaves. You know, in the place I've been to photograph, there is a huge variety of plants, with 5, 6 even 10 different species in a square meter. I've found the same species of insects on very different plants. I'll keep going there in the next days, and I'll try to follow the development of these guys.

Strange ones! Do you remember what kind of leaf? Some kind of vine maybe?