On May 27, I found a fifth-instar Anise Swallowtail caterpillar, Papilio z. zelicaon, on a tall parsley plant in bloom.
Next day, the caterpillar was eating parsley buds. Then it retired to the fence behind the plant. On the 29th, it began to look like a prepupa, shorter and thicker than before. It started to attach itself to the fence in late afternoon. With a pad of silk in place at its posterior end, it worked back and forth between left and right to make its hanging strap.
6:55 p.m.
7:15 p.m.
7:16 p.m. The opening of the osmeterium, a defensive organ, is visible on the caterpillar's "forehead."
7:22 p.m.
A view from above, 7:26 p.m.
Another view from above, 7:31 p.m.
8:24 p.m. By sunset, the weaving was complete and the caterpillar was still.
