What is this thing?

[aliasx]

A caterpillar? Found in B.C. near vancouver. Does anyone have any info on the species etc? :?

 

[Randomosity]

it's...it's....MOTHRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


yeah, it's a caterpillar.

 

[Seinfeld-]

Yeah it is, i picked one up at the park by my house and my hands stuck.

EwwWWww ;P

 

[edesign]

check in the forum below called "Insects and Other Invertebrates" (actually where this should have been posted )...someone had one of these ID'd there not too long ago, but i think theirs was green.

 

[DnKslr]

Eww! It looks like an Elephant Seal

 

[Navaros]

It is a caterpillar of a species of swallowtail butterfly.

 

[cichlidsman]

that is one juicy looking bug. would they be ok to feed spiders?

 

[Navaros]

I'm not sure, but why bother? There are plenty of other things you can feed your spiders without the risk. Besides, swallowtails are awesome why would you want to kill one (besides pinning anyway )?

 

[cichlidsman]

I'm not sure, but why bother? There are plenty of other things you can feed your spiders without the risk. Besides, swallowtails are awesome why would you want to kill one (besides pinning anyway )?

If it would'nt cause any porblems, then it may be a nice meal.

 

[Navaros]

Of course it would, but so would crickets. Besides, why risk exposure to pesticides, etc.?

 

[Horrido]

Western tiger swallowtail. Cateripllars come in greens and browns, with a few odd yellowish or pinkish varieties. Butterflies are big, yellow, black-striped, and long tails. Put it in a jar with a stick in it, and it will pupate. Keep it out in a garage by a window for the winter, and bring it back inside in April.

Cool threat displays by the caterpiller. Quit harassing it, or it will develop an identity crisis and start to think it really is a snake.

Swallowtail caterpillars have chemical defenses, a spider would probably just dump it out of its web.

http://mamba.bio.uci.edu/~pjbryant/biodiv/lepidopt/papilio/tiger.htm

 

[aliasx]

Western tiger swallowtail. Cateripllars come in greens and browns, with a few odd yellowish or pinkish varieties. Butterflies are big, yellow, black-striped, and long tails. Put it in a jar with a stick in it, and it will pupate. Keep it out in a garage by a window for the winter, and bring it back inside in April.

Cool threat displays by the caterpiller. Quit harassing it, or it will develop an identity crisis and start to think it really is a snake.

Swallowtail caterpillars have chemical defenses, a spider would probably just dump it out of its web.

http://mamba.bio.uci.edu/~pjbryant/biodiv/lepidopt/papilio/tiger.htm

Thanks a lot for filling me in Horrido, I had seen a similar green one in another recent thread but it was an eastern swallowtail so that had me wondering.. .

 

[Horrido]

If you can find a number of swallowtail caterpillars, put them on sticks with different textures, from smooth to very rough, of varying colors. The shade of the chrysalis will vary from bright green to brownish-black, the rougher the surface gets, regardless of the color. lol

The reason you keep them outside during the winter, is that they need the cold temperatures to trigger their development, and you want them near a natural light source because many are also photosensitive and dependent on daylength to trigger development as well.