‹ Previous Macro & Close-up Gallery Next ›

Spicebush swallowtail caterpillar

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted October 1, 20062,200 views21 comments

Natural history never ceases to fascinate.I planted some spicebush plants ,a shrub native to NA to hopefully attract the spicebush swallowtail.I'm delighted to report that I have several of these funky looking caterpillars munching away.The forked orange appendage is displayed as a threat device.The sparkly patches on the leaf are a silk bed laid down by the CP
Canon 10D/105 macro/flash+diffuser

Comments

21 comments

Comment posted by Grace Blair on October 1, 2006 at 10:34 AM

Wonderful image, I love it!

Registered on May 12, 2005, 127 Posts, 362 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Garber on October 1, 2006 at 10:44 AM

Awesome!
I have a spicebush about 4 years old, and no one showed up

Registered on November 17, 2003, 704 Posts, 3535 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Hardy on October 1, 2006 at 11:54 AM

David

Registered on August 1, 2005, 37 Posts, 346 Comments

Comment posted by David Schwaegler on October 1, 2006 at 12:31 PM

Fabulous.

Registered on December 4, 2003, 232 Posts, 1652 Comments

Comment posted by Graham Bailey on October 1, 2006 at 1:58 PM

Love it, a very cartoony look

Registered on July 23, 2005, 24 Posts, 133 Comments

Comment posted by Basil Greber on October 1, 2006 at 4:38 PM

Hehe, that's great. Looking at the thumbnail I though that this was a snake with a slightly "swollen" head.

Basil

Registered on November 8, 2005, 219 Posts, 1340 Comments

Comment posted by Ramamohan Pai on October 1, 2006 at 7:12 PM

I first thought this was some exotic snake species. What a cool Cat. Well seen and composed

Registered on November 1, 2003, 550 Posts, 9037 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hamel on October 1, 2006 at 9:01 PM

Nice one David.

Registered on May 7, 2006, 53 Posts, 59 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on October 1, 2006 at 10:22 PM

David: Great catch. The osmeterium also puts out a pretty strong odor. Looks like this guy is not far from going into a chrysallis. Wonderful capture. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Juza on October 2, 2006 at 4:20 AM

Wow! Really cool!

Registered on November 1, 2003, 374 Posts, 10466 Comments

Comment posted by Pete D on October 2, 2006 at 6:25 PM

David,
This is really nice. It's a clean, effective composition AND you have some natural history interest too. Excellent. Which end of Mr. Spicebush is this. If that's the rear, I also smile at the idea of a caterpillar with a smiley face on it's, er, bumper.

Pete D.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 590 Posts, 1794 Comments

Comment posted by William Brozy on October 2, 2006 at 8:17 PM

Awesome cat and well captured - this would look great (and be seriously graphic) on a white bg. Looks real smooth, great work with the flash and eliminating potential the hot spots.

Registered on November 9, 2003, 559 Posts, 2929 Comments

Comment posted by David Chauvin on October 2, 2006 at 8:58 PM

Unreal! Like some sort of ballon animal.

Registered on August 5, 2004, 1007 Posts, 5595 Comments

Comment posted by Manjesh Lingamurth on October 3, 2006 at 12:08 PM

Registered on June 10, 2005, 43 Posts, 91 Comments

Comment posted by Ganesh H Shankar on October 4, 2006 at 2:15 AM

Beautiful !!

Registered on March 1, 2004, 324 Posts, 1867 Comments

Comment posted by jens stolt on October 4, 2006 at 8:08 AM

Nice capture. All sharp and well coloured.

Registered on August 2, 2006, 8 Posts, 31 Comments

Comment posted by Randy Harrison on October 4, 2006 at 6:20 PM

Nice job with the DOF David. These guys really fascinate me also. Maybe next year I will actually see on in the woods.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 468 Posts, 3099 Comments

Comment posted by Ronnie Gaubert on October 7, 2006 at 10:42 PM

David,

Great angle you chose for this shot. I think it shows the best view of the amazing comoflauge these guys have evolved into. Nice one.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 810 Posts, 3495 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Walters on October 9, 2006 at 10:03 AM

Really like the detail in this shot! Congratulations on the pick!