29 October 2012
Monday macrobug: parsleyworm
Posted by Callan Bentley
Look what I found while out weed-whacking in the yard:
(gloved fingers for scale)
That’s the larva of the black swallowtail butterfly. This good-looking caterpillar is colloquially known as a “parsleyworm.”
In these last two shots, check it out without and with the osmeteria (fleshy “horns” behind the head) everted in defense:
The osmeteria get to be about 3 times longer than that last shot, but I couldn’t photograph them in that fully extended state. As soon as they pop out, they begin to retract again.
Callan Bentley is Associate Professor of Geology at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. For his work on this blog, the National Association of Geoscience Teachers recognized him with the James Shea Award. He has also won the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council on Higher Education in Virginia, and the Biggs Award for Excellence in Geoscience Teaching from the Geoscience Education Division of the Geological Society of America. In previous years, Callan served as a contributing editor at EARTH magazine, President of the Geological Society of Washington and President the Geo2YC division of NAGT.