Freshly hatched caterpillars.
Intermediate stages. During this stage, the caterpillars take on the colouring of bird droppings as this is obviously an effective way of keeping most predators away.
Final instar.By now, the caterpillar is too big to pass off convincingly as a piece of bird dropping, so it switches guises, becoming a little snake. Really little, i might add. Still, its pretty cute. When threatened, it emits a orange-red, forked stink gland to repel the predator.
Final instar.By now, the caterpillar is too big to pass off convincingly as a piece of bird dropping, so it switches guises, becoming a little snake. Really little, i might add. Still, its pretty cute. When threatened, it emits a orange-red, forked stink gland to repel the predator.
The chrysalis takes the form of a leaf. This stage lasts around 8-10 days.
And finally, the resplendent imago. Lime butterflies are rapid fliers and seldom stop to rest unless nectaring from flowers like ixora and bougainvillea, which are among their favourite flowers. The fresh, luminous pale yellow only newly emerged adults such as the one pictured almost always fades to a duller, orange-yellow shade as the butterfly ages.
I'll upload more photos and update in the near future...
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