Found a few of these on my lemon tree. Started as the very small black and white colouring before turning green when a lot larger. A swallowtail I think?
Hi Ben, Correct, Orchard Swallowtail. As you point out, the younger larvae are more cryptic, looking rather like a bird dropping, then they get more obviously caterpillars as they get larger, though with those smears of white, there's still a hint of the bird dropping disguise there. They must do a lot better since Europeans arrived with our exotic citrus trees. They're quite a common sight in towns, flapping leisurely along.
Thanks Jackie. Lovely. Looking forward to watching these develop further and emerge from their chrysalis in coming weeks. Taking a daily image I hope to convert into a timelapse-type video
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