Page 42 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World
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BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS
FAMILY Papilionidae
DISTRIBUTION Timor, southeastern New Guinea, and northern and
northeastern Australia
HABITAT Open forests and savannah woodlands
HOST PLANTS Pipevine (Aristolochia spp. and Pararistolochia spp.)
NOTE Unpalatable caterpillar that emits a sweet odor if disturbed
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but common in coastal tropical and
subtropical areas
ADULT WINGSPAN
2¾ in (70 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1⁄–1⁄ in (40–43 mm)
CRESSIDA CRESSIDA
CLEARWING SWALLOWTAIL
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(FABRICIUS, 1775)
The Clearwing Swallowtail caterpillar hatches from yellow
eggs with vertical rows of raised orange dots. When feeding
on small-leaved species of pipevine, the caterpillar will often
consume the entire plant and then wander on the ground in
search of more vines. The food plants are poisonous, and the
caterpillar becomes unpalatable to predators, passing on this
trait to the adult butterfly. When disturbed, the caterpillar also
emits a sweet smell from its extended osmeterium as a warning
The Clearwing Swallowtail caterpillar has to predators. Generally there is only one caterpillar per plant,
variable reddish-brown coloring, mottled with as the female will avoid laying on plants that already have an
white or creamy-white markings. The abdominal
segments three, four, and seven often have a egg or a caterpillar.
broken transverse white band, and both the
thoracic and abdominal segments have short,
rounded dorsolateral and lateral tubercles. Pupation will often occur off the vine, on grass or a nearby tree
There is a yellow osmeterium on the prothorax,
and the head is brownish black. trunk, the pupa upright and supported by a central silken girdle
and an attachment by the cremaster. The adults fly low and
slowly but are capable of rapid fl ight if disturbed. There are
several broods each year, and the caterpillars are more numerous
in the wet season because of better food quality and quantity
and warmer temperatures. Cressida cressida is the only species
in the Cressida genus.
Actual size
