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Old World Swallowtail life cycle

Papilio machaon

Description:

it is always the same individual. Three weeks ago I found the caterpillar ready to make its chrysalis. I returned a week ago, and was still fine, but didn't take any photos. Today I went and found it on the floor! as it is a place where many people pass, and didn't want they kill her, I brought the chrysalis to my house, and 4 hours later .... has left its chrysalis!

Notes:

The food plants of the swallowtail in Europe, Asia, and North America are varied. It uses a wide variety of umbellifers including wild carrot (Daucus carota), wild angelica (Angelica sylvestris), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), and hogweeds (Heracleum). In the Maltese Islands, the caterpillar feeds on plants such as rue (Ruta chalepensis) and fennel. The caterpillar spends the first part of its life with the appearance of a bird dropping, an effective defense against predators. As the caterpillar grows larger, it becomes green with black and orange markings. It has a defense against predators in the form of an osmeterium, which consists of retractable, fleshy projections behind its head that can release a foul smell if disturbed, which deters insects, but not birds

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13 Comments

PatriciaPi
PatriciaPi 10 years ago

Thank you Mark & Joe!

Mark Ridgway
Mark Ridgway 10 years ago

Excellent spotting Patricia... and that butterfly looks perfect .

JoeHartman
JoeHartman 10 years ago

Excellent series, thanks for sharing!

PatriciaPi
PatriciaPi 10 years ago

Thank's/Gracias Mona Pirih & LuisStevens!! :D

LuisStevens
LuisStevens 10 years ago

Qu buena serie Patricia!

Mona Pirih
Mona Pirih 10 years ago

Awesome series Patricia.. Very beautiful.. :)

PatriciaPi
PatriciaPi 10 years ago

thank you so much/muchas gracias! Gilma Jeannette Ospino Ferreira-Norman & Maria dB

Maria dB
Maria dB 10 years ago

Una maravillosa serie!

Beautiful story and great series, PatriciaPi. Thank you for sharing.
I love to see the stages of butterflies as caterpillar, chrysalis and Butterfly it teaches us how to ID when one is found.

The MnMs
The MnMs 10 years ago

Ahora que veo tantos spottings de Calpe me apetece ir por alli. Mi madre vive en Benidorm :-)

PatriciaPi
PatriciaPi 10 years ago

gracias Marta!
solicitud aceptada!
:)

The MnMs
The MnMs 10 years ago

Thanks for saving this beautiful butterfly! Nice story! :-)

The MnMs
The MnMs 10 years ago

¡Que requetebonita! Magnifica serie, Patricia!
Te he mandado un Friend Request en FB. Asi te puedo contar por mensaje privado como fuimos a Escocia etc ;-)

PatriciaPi
Spotted by
PatriciaPi

Calp, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain

Spotted on Oct 9, 2013
Submitted on Oct 9, 2013

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