Osmeterium, Pt. 1 - _TNY_4614
This caterpillar will hopefully turn into a common yellow swallowtail (Papilio machaon) next year, but today I thought we should talk a little about how the caterpillar defends itself. They have what's called an osmeterium wich is a y-shaped organ on the forehead which they can inflate when startled and which emits a foul stench.
Together with my son, I attempted to trigger this which turned out to not be so easy. We tried bothering one caterpillar after the other, but they all seemed rather reluctant to display it. This one is I think the seventh or eight we tried and finally, it flashed it for an instant - but I was ready and got the shot: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53050373683/
Osmeterium, Pt. 1 - _TNY_4614
This caterpillar will hopefully turn into a common yellow swallowtail (Papilio machaon) next year, but today I thought we should talk a little about how the caterpillar defends itself. They have what's called an osmeterium wich is a y-shaped organ on the forehead which they can inflate when startled and which emits a foul stench.
Together with my son, I attempted to trigger this which turned out to not be so easy. We tried bothering one caterpillar after the other, but they all seemed rather reluctant to display it. This one is I think the seventh or eight we tried and finally, it flashed it for an instant - but I was ready and got the shot: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53050373683/