Rising Tide Images
Fifth Instar
At the end of the fifth instar larval stage, this caterpillar wraps a thread of silk around itself, like a utility pole climbing belt, and pupates. Far more attractive than its previous instars, which earned it the descriptive name “bird poop caterpillar”, it will harden into a pupa molt or chrysalis that resembles a sci-fi alien being or invading body snatcher. After a metamorphosis of about two weeks, a strikingly beautiful citrus swallowtail butterfly emerges.
Fifth Instar
At the end of the fifth instar larval stage, this caterpillar wraps a thread of silk around itself, like a utility pole climbing belt, and pupates. Far more attractive than its previous instars, which earned it the descriptive name “bird poop caterpillar”, it will harden into a pupa molt or chrysalis that resembles a sci-fi alien being or invading body snatcher. After a metamorphosis of about two weeks, a strikingly beautiful citrus swallowtail butterfly emerges.