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Project Noah Nature School
Papilio aegeus
A caterpillar of the Large Citrus Butterfly or Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly, this specimen about 4cm long, green shades, grey brown, white and yellow patterned and coloured, spines covering body on top side matching the colour where each emerges from the body, when threatened the bright red/orange osmeterium are thrust out from behind the head which emits a strong citrus smell that the caterpillar hopes will send predators away. Caterpillar feeds on citrus leaves in this case.
Eastern Australia, this one on citrus trees.
Spotted on Jan 5, 2014
Submitted on Jan 5, 2014
4 Comments
Thanks Saumya. The butterflies that develop from these caterpillars are large and beautiful, so will be watching the trees where these are in the hope of capturing them in photos.
Amazing Photo !
Thank you beaker98. There are so many wonderful creatures out there, large and small, and many we have yet to see.
Awesome! These are great, and you have a wonderful collection of photos.