Early Version - _TNY_8582
When the caterpillars of the common yellow swallowtail (Papilio machaon) hatch from the eggs they are green and very very small. Eventually, that first suit becomes to cramped and it literally splits open an out comes the second instar form - which is this.
At this point in the development, it attempts (quite successfully) to look like a small bird dropping, just 6 or 7 millimeters in length, but the third, fourth and fifth stages instead are green with orange and black stripes (here is the third and fifth stages in the same photo: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53667619327/)
Early Version - _TNY_8582
When the caterpillars of the common yellow swallowtail (Papilio machaon) hatch from the eggs they are green and very very small. Eventually, that first suit becomes to cramped and it literally splits open an out comes the second instar form - which is this.
At this point in the development, it attempts (quite successfully) to look like a small bird dropping, just 6 or 7 millimeters in length, but the third, fourth and fifth stages instead are green with orange and black stripes (here is the third and fifth stages in the same photo: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53667619327/)