The beautifully camouflaged caterpillar whose picture I posted here duly pupated and last night this exquisite swallow-tail moth Ourapteryx sambucaria emerged.
With this lighting the fine brown lines on the wings show nicely and if you double-click on the image to enlarge it you can pick out the bright red spot just behind the tip of each of its 'swallowtails'.
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Ah, so there's a Swallowtail moth for me to not find, too :o)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous pics, Phil.
Congratulations on your successful emergence! What a beauty!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beauty, Phil. I've not trapped a Swallowtail so it's good to see one in the flesh, as it were.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beauty! Looks like silk.
ReplyDeleteExquisite.
ReplyDeleteHi Graeme, I'd never have seen one if I hadn't been given the caterpillar..
ReplyDeleteI've let it go on the ivy in the garden, Emma (ivy is apparently the favourite caterpillar food plant) and I'm hoping it will find a mate and breed
ReplyDeleteHi lotusleaf, I've read that the pale yellow colour fades to white as they age..
ReplyDeleteHi Rob, it was taking so long to metamorphose that I was afraid the caterpillar had been parasitised..
ReplyDeleteThat describes it perfectly Toffeeapple..
ReplyDeletePhil, Yesterday and today have been unbelievably hot and humid. Most unusual for the shore of Lake Michigan. Since it is way to hot to work in the Gardens at Waters East, it is a good time to catch up on your Blog and other Blogs I am following. The moth is really beautiful. Here I am getting many different butterflies now that it is warmer and the flowers are starting to "do their thing". A few months back I posted ( March 1, 2011) the kinds of plants here at Gardens at Waters East that bring them onto the property. Seeing butterflies and moths adds so much to the "dance" of gardening. Jack
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more about the joy of enticing butterflies and moths into the garden Jack. I've got a lot of honeysuckle in bloom at the moment, which pulls them in....
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