Pipevine Swallowtail Larvae

As a follow-up from yesterday I snapped this picture of a late instar Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) larvae. This glossy black caterpillar is at most a few days away from becoming a chrysalis.

With their long black tubercles these caterpillars look positively alien to me. When reared outside, this caterpillar can have a reddish coloration, perhaps from exposure to UV light. Much like the Polydamas Swallowtail larvae these two color forms can look startlingly different from each other.

What’s in a Name?: The genus Battus is named for the Greek shepherd of Pylos who witnessed Hermes stealing cattle and promised to remain silent about the theft. Battus did not keep his promise and was transformed into a creature as silent as a stone. Also of the same name, King Battus of Cyrene (the Greek colony located in the modern area of Libya) founded the Battiad dynasty that rules for eight generations.

King Battus was the first Greek king in North Africa and was known for his pronounced stutter. Battology is the medical discipline dealing with stuttering.

The species epithet philenor (Greek φιληνωρ) literally means "fond of men" or "loving one's husband". What this term has to do with butterflies or this species was not explained by Carl Linnaeus who described the Pipevine Swallowtail in 1771.