A Little Bit More
It’s ironic that such a beautiful butterfly would have a caterpillar that mimics a bird dropping but that’s exactly what it does! The illustration doesn’t do justice to this mimicry so you should check out our web links of this caterpillar to really get a good look – the mimicry is quite impressive.
The swallowtails get their name from the extension on their hind wings. Most of the swallowtail larvae (caterpillars) have a scent gland (osmeterium) that they can evert and discharge an unpleasant odor to discourage predators. But, of course, with the Orange Dog, it’s probably uncommon that any predator gets very close to them in the first place so they don’t use their odor defensive method often.
The Giant Swallowtail caterpillar, or Orange Dog, is most common in the extreme southern part of the U.S. and much of Mexico but its range does extend up to the northern states and into extreme southern Ontario, Canada. Caterpillars are usually found on citrus in the south, but farther north they’re often found feeding on Prickly Ash or the Hop Tree (water-ash). In the South, Giant Swallowtails may have as many as 3 or more generations in a year but in the North, only 1 or 2.
Activities
Science and Art – Look Alikes
Objectives: A better look at mimics
Materials: Printout of this activity illustration, field guide or online access, coloring crayons
Mimics can really be impressive and “fool” even the most discerning eye. I’ve included an illustration of a mimic that is quite common and impressive in its mimicry. In fact, it’s quite possible you’ve often seen syrphid (SIR-fid) flies too but thought you were seeing bees.
Bee Mimics. © John Wiessinger
Take a look in a field guide to insects or go online to find out what both the Drone Fly (syrphid fly) and Honeybee look like in color and see if you can color in your two illustrations. The finished product won’t look exactly the same but when Drone Flys are flying about looking for flowers, they’re a moving target and really do look like Honeybees.
Web site
Syrphid Fly photographs:
Honeybee photographs:
Key Concepts
Behavior and Regulation, Growth and Development, Identification, Life Cycles, Predator/Prey Relationships, Structures and Functions
Questions
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