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Project Noah Nature School
Agraulis vanillae
My first sighting of the year of caterpillars on the passionflower vine this backyard butterfly garden. Despite the formidable-looking spikes, these caterpillars are not venomous, and handling them will not result in stings or unpleasant itching. The orange coloration warns predators that they are poisonous. (So don't eat them, okay?) :D
Habitat: Pastures, open fields, second-growth subtropical forest and edges, city gardens. Range: South America north through Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies to the southern United States. Wanders north to the central United States; rare northward.
Spotted in a backyard flower garden in Kennesaw, GA
Spotted on Sep 4, 2014
Submitted on Sep 13, 2014
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