Black Swallowtail update-eggs hatched!

Nature News


Black swallowtail eggs hatched!
Young caterpillars-early instars- feeding on fennel.  I don't get how such a tiny egg produced such a large caterpillar-8 mm-in such a short time.  (photo of egg in previous blog)
That white stripe is due to uric acid deposits  that are thought to protect the caterpillars from a toxic chemical (furocoumarin) found in their diet. Members of the Umbelliferae family, like fennel, dill and carrots, all of which are host plants for black swallowtail caterpillars, produce furocoumarins as a defense against micro-organisms.


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