This was the chronicle of the Eastern Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes). At least a portion of its life, from larva to chrysalis.
October 24, 2022. While walking Gracie, I spotted this cat! It was a Giant Swallowtail caterpillar on the Toothache Tree (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis) along our fence! Disguised as bird dropping, it still caught my eye!
There were actually two cats on this small tree! I felt it was my special day. 😉
movie osmeterium
Of course I had to pet it to watch the horns (osmeterium) pop out. The osmeterium is inflated with air as a defense mechanism. Who would want to bother a snake it thinks. All the swallowtails have this organ.
Naturally, I had to bring one home to join my other foster critters. The subtle colors are so stunning when you look closely.
A closer view of the spiracles (breathing holes) and the prolegs.
The cat measured about forty-five millimeters. So now I was wondering how long I would have to feed it. The Toothache Tree was loosing its leaves fast. So I had assumed that it would pupate fairly soon. It was only four days before it made its chrysalis.
On October 27th the larva started to use its silk to attach to the branch!
The next day the magic happened! The movie was made with a Pixel 5 phone using time lapse. Then I sped up the MP4 to 400 FPS (frame per second).
Did you see that the exuvia fell off? It was fast. I didn’t notice until I saw the “head” below on the felt. The compound eye lens were what had caught my attention. Is that not cool? So it was kinda like, off with its head and then it undressed from the top down.
Anchored with the silk at three points, the chrysalis now blended in with the branch.
Another view. Pretty good camo I would say. 🙂 I suspect it will not emerge until spring.
It was incredible to watch. The whole transformation took about twelve hours. This was from the moment that it anchored to the branch to the forming of the chrysalis. When it started actively making the chrysalis, it took less than fifteen or twenty minutes. Indeed, nature is amazing!
Good question, however I have no idea. My nose does not know about smells very well. I barely can get a whiff of stuff most people can smell. I mean it would have to be a really strong scent for me to notice. How close do have to get the black swallowtail to notice the smell?
You could spot the proverbial needle in a haystack. That video is awesome. Never seen anything like it. Thanks so much.
really cool story and videos!
Wow, incredible video! Does the osmeterium for this species smell as bad as that of the black swallowtail?
Good question, however I have no idea. My nose does not know about smells very well. I barely can get a whiff of stuff most people can smell. I mean it would have to be a really strong scent for me to notice. How close do have to get the black swallowtail to notice the smell?
What usually happens for me is that I’m relocating a cat to more forage and its osmeterium touches my fingers. Then it’s easy for me to get a smell.
Well, I will try touching next time. 🙂
Wow! My whole household enjoyed the video!
🙂