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Project Noah Nature School
Papilio troilus
Green caterpillar, but may be brown (very similar to bird poop) when in its first few instars. The caterpillar has eye spots that make it look like a small snake, and can evert a Y-shaped osmeterium when threatened.
The caterpillar lives on Spicebush plants. Look for curled-up leaves.
Found at the Barbara A. Beiser Field Station.
Spotted on Sep 7, 2010
Submitted on Feb 7, 2011
2 Comments
Very nice.
This is my favorite of all the Swallowtail caterpillars, and the snake mimic instar is just wild.