During the last years I have had the chance to watch caterpillars change itself into a chrysalis and then to reappear as a beautiful butterfly. When possible I grabbed my camera and took some pics at various stages. So I decided to put a few together.
These don’t hold too much artistic value other than show the sheer magic of Nature.
Socrate
1-It all starts with the mama Giant Swallowtail (GST) laying an egg.
2-The GST’s caterpillar. It mimics bird poop as a camouflage from predators.
3-They can be a pest of small citrus trees. The red arrow points to a GST’s egg.
4-When disturbed they stick out a red forked tongue and emit a terrible odor.
5-The caterpillar attaches itself to a vertical limb with a self-produced silken thread.
