underdogishere

A brand-newly hatched Black Swallowtail caterpillar, just out of the egg (those are the whorls of my fingerprints for size comparison):



They get bigger (you can see an unhatched egg in this picture, too):



They get lots bigger (same finger and thumb):



No kidding: The caterpillar in the third picture is the same -- Black Swallowtail -- as in the first picture.

At the Butterfly Farm in St. Martin, they joke that the caterpillar is the "cruise ship phase" of the butterfly's life, because all they do is eat, eat, eat. However, I can assure you that there is one more thing they do a lot of:

They poop, poop, poop.

But as they make their way from the critter in the first picture to the monster in the third, and then eventually to this, they are subject to predation. Lots of things around here want to eat them -- lizards, tree frogs, and birds, to name a few. So...

...this post is concluded in my new blog and I mentioned a little while ago. You can read it simply by clicking here. You will need to be approved to read that blog (reason explained in the previous post), but if you would like to be approved, all you need to do is ask. Click here and send me a message. That's all you need to do. I will approve you (as long as you're not Certain Someone). I promise.

Labels: Butterflies, There's No Need To Fear