One must really keep the eyes peeled and rolling in a fine frenzy. Look out! Down on the sidewalk, a little under 1.5″ long, easily mistaken for a turd or cigarillo butt. 
But, actually, it’s the larva of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus), that gloriously large yellow and black butterfly. Early instars, or stages, of this caterpillar look like bird droppings (that old camouflage trick!); middle ones are vivid lime green, with the false eye spots; the last before pupation will look like this. Tuliptree, magnolia, and black cherry are among the food plants for this species; this was next to a Tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera), which is an unusual street tree here. Like all caterpillars, it is a machine for eating, powering up for the biochemical alchemy of metamorphosis. 
Shazam! I mean, shit into gold, the alchemical dream right here.
Crawly
7 responses to “Crawly”
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White tiger swallowtail? Didn’t realize they came in that color.
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It’s actually quite yellow, but the lighting wasn’t with me…
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Reblogged this on Backyard and Beyond and commented:
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Catepillar: from the archives for this blog’s 5th anniversary. This was on the sidewalk thirty feet from home.
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[…] Here’s a late instar or stage of the caterpillar for this species. […]
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[…] around the corner of my old Cobble Hill apartment. If you remember, that was where I found this Eastern Tiger Swallow caterpillar, which feeds on this […]
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[…] Here is the last stage of the larval form. […]
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[…] A couple of caterpillars of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. When they are in their early stages or instars, they look a bit like bird turds. But when you look closer, your larger-than-average predator brain will note some curiosities. The “eyes” are fake, by the way.(Some caterpillars pretend to be twigs…) As they get older, the caterpillars get greener, blending into the leaves. The final instar looks like a cigar stub! I haven’t seen one of these lately, but some years ago I met one on the sidewalk. […]
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