Nature Notes/Caterpillars

The few potted lemon plants that I grow have been hosts to caterpillars of the Common Mormon swallowtail butterflies. The other day I was very happy to see three caterpillars on this small plant. If everything goes right, they may turn out to be like the one pictured below (a female). The male does not have the red markings.

Common Mormon butterfly

Caterpillar of the Common Crow butterfly

The fig plant also has a few caterpillars of the Common Crow butterfly. This butterfly has a special place in my heart. It was when I saw the Common Crow butterfly emerge from the chrysalis, dry its wings and fly off, I knew I needed a place to share all the creatures that I see around me. You can see the full grown butterfly on my sidebar. 


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Nature Notes/ The End Too Soon

The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.~ Rabindranath Tagore

But some do not make it. Like these tiny eggs...On recent bird watching trip I was hoping to get some butterfly shots. But with the day being cloudy I only saw a few flying about as we were about to return. My friend Mitali noticed a butterfly on the ground. It looked like a Lime butterfly (one of the most commonly seen swallowtails here) but the coloration was slightly different. It was sad to see some of the eggs still attached to the body. Back home I looked up my Book of Indian Butterflies and it looked similar to the Common Yellow swallowtail. The photo below was taken with these coloured stones on the wings to hold them in place. It's a butterfly I have never seen in my yard nor photographed. Maybe on my next trip to the same place I may be able to photograph this beautiful butterfly- alive.

This post is for Michelle's Nature Notes. Click on the link and check out posts on nature by other participants.