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Found this little guy on a trail near Bidwell Creek


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I don't know what type of caterpillar it is, but I have seen others use this defense. the protrusions seem to have two purposes in the ones I have witnessed. One, they look like horns which could deter some predators. They also expel a strong scent which could deter other predators.
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I right clicked on the image, then selected 'Search Google for Image'.

 

Ah, well, we were doing something different. Your method never would have occurred to me, so thank you for the clarification. It's a cool caterpillar and I'm glad that the OP brought it to our collective attention.

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beautiful image of the butterfly posted on photo.net in the Nature forum

 

Lovely image, yes, same butterfly, not exactly, well, no. Close, but not the one. Bill says his is a Black swallowtail. The spots aren't right for the Pipevine swallowtail, and there are a few other differences. I understand why you think they are the same, they are very similar.

 

Here is a link to descriptions of morphological characters and good photos of the Pipevine. There is also a nice image of the namesake plant.

pipevine swallowtail - Battus philenor

 

There are a few swallowtail butterflies in my yard now, and if I see the Pipevine I'll definitely post an image.

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