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Home > Blogs > Birds and Butterflies > Archives > 2011 > August > 24 > Entry
Mimicry is Awesome!
Last week, I had the opportunity to work a shift in the Cox Arboretum Butterfly House. It was really neat to see just as many caterpillars as butterflies! It’s funny, but with most of the butterflies I see on a regular basis, I have never seen their larva.
One particular butterfly was catching my interest more than the rest. This was the Pipevine Swallowtail. This butterfly is one of my favorites because it is noxious to birds that may try to eat it.
As a caterpillar, this butterfly’s host plant is the Pipevine, which has some chemicals in the leaves that make birds ill. So, the chemicals stay in the caterpillar’s body and are present in the adults after metamorphosis. Many other butterflies that are not noxious look like the Pipevine Swallowtail to confuse birds and other predators into leaving them alone. Some examples of this are the Black Swallowtail, the Spicebush Swallowtail, and the Red-spotted Purple butterflies.
Take a look at the pictures I have provided and see if you could be fooled!
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