Brilliant photos from Hakenomori showing the difference in 4th-instar swallowtails common to Ja

Brilliant photos from Hakenomori showing the difference in 4th-instar swallowtails common to Japan: Papilio memnon (Great Mormon, “Nagasaki Ageha”),Papilio protenor (Spangle,“Kuro Ageha”),Papilio xuthus  (Yellow Swallowtail, “Ageha”or“Nami Ageha”), which all look extremely similar at the young instars.

They are much easier to differentiate at later instars, but most Swallowtails use the clever camouflage of looking like poo when young, and little green snakes when in their last instar (shed before pupating).

Last Wednesday I picked up two very small (1cm) swallowtails off a Kinkan (kumquat, Citrus japonica) tree, assuming they were the regular, common Papilio xuthus that I’ve raised many times before. I only found two of a similar size among the dozen saplings at that location, but took them home along with some more citrus leaves.

In the 6 days I’ve had them, they both shed twice and ate and grew, and are now at about the size that a normal Papilio xuthus would have already shed to 5th instar, but their skin looks taut and greenish instead of a deep coffee brown. Finally this morning I suspected I was not looking at  Papilio xuthus after all, and went online to look up differences. They don’t have the white ‘butt’ of a Kuro Ageha, so I looked a little closer— then I noticed the sky blue speckles along their backs and realized I had stumbled upon the stunningly beautiful, much more uncommon Great Mormon caterpillar!

Their mother must have recognized the citrus trees as a suitable food for her caterpillars, but instead of placing many eggs like xuthus, left only a few eggs and zoomed off to find another location. 

I look forward to raising these guys with great attention!