“…and today we’re talking about a creature that sounds like a brand of expensive tea.”
The unblinking eyes of the spicebush caterpillar stare into the face of danger. Subterfuge is a great tool, but maintaining a ruse requires showmanship and commitment to a role. If a hungry predator sees past their sly facade, this caterpillar’s spices are cooked. But taking advantage of your enemy’s deepest fears can be effective in Life, Death, and Taxonomy.
Measure Up
- Hint 1: I’m a winged creature inspired by nature’s delicate fliers, often found in stories of transformation, emerging from a cocoon after a humble, crawling start in a forest setting.
- Hint 2: My abilities include spreading a fine dust from my wings, which can disrupt opponents in strategic ways, a trait celebrated in a 1990s game where I was one of the first of my kind to shine.
- Hint 3: In a collectible card game from the early 2000s, my card from a set called “Neo Discovery” had a unique attack called Whirlwind, which could force an opponent to retreat, showcasing my subtle power.
- Hint 4: In a 2013 game set in a region inspired by France, my distant relatives gained dazzling new wing patterns, but my classic form retains simple purple hues with red spots, tied to an earlier era of a monster-collecting world.
- Hint 5: I’m the final stage of a three-part metamorphosis starting with a worm-like creature, known in a long-running animated series for a tearful farewell in an episode about migration. My base Speed stat of 70 outpaces my cocoon stage by far.
Length of Papilio troilus
The Spicebush caterpillar has a length of 55 mm (5.5 cm or 2.17 inches) in its final instar.. How many butterflies, wingspan to wingspan, fit into the length of these American history-related objects?
Question: How many Papilio troilus fit into each object’s length?
A) 11.1 go into the length of the Liberty Bell crack
B) 1 go into the diameter of a Colonial-era musket ball
C) 7.2 go into the length of a quill pen from the Constitutional Convention
a) The length of a Liberty Bell crack
The Liberty Bell, an iconic symbol of American independence cast in 1752, has a visible crack approximately 24 inches (61 cm or 610 mm) long, based on historical measurements.
b) The diameter of a Colonial-era musket ball
A musket ball used during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) typically had a diameter of about 0.69 inches (17.5 mm or 1.75 cm) for a .69-caliber Brown Bess musket.
c) The length of a quill pen from the Constitutional Convention
A quill pen, as used by delegates signing the U.S. Constitution in 1787, typically measured about 12 inches (30.5 cm or 305 mm) in length, including the feather shaft.
Width of Papilio troilus
Papilio troilus has a body width of 8 mm (0.8 cm or 0.31 inches). How many butterflies, placed side by side, fit into the width of these American history-related objects?
Question: How many Papilio troilus fit into each object’s width?
A) 10.5 go into the width of a Betsy Ross flag star
B) 76 go into the width of a Pony Express mochila
C) 0.8 go into the thickness of a Lincoln penny
a) The width of a Betsy Ross flag star
The Betsy Ross flag, associated with the American Revolution, features 13 stars in a circle. Each star is approximately 4 inches (10.2 cm or 102 mm) wide, point to point, on a standard replica.
b) The width of a Pony Express mochila
The mochila, a leather mailbag used by Pony Express riders (1860–1861), was about 24 inches (61 cm or 610 mm) wide across its saddle flap.
c) The thickness of a Lincoln penny
A Lincoln penny, first minted in 1909 to honor Abraham Lincoln, has a thickness of 1.52 mm (0.152 cm or 0.06 inches).
Major Fact: The Snake is a Lie
The spicebush exhibits snake mimicry in its caterpillar stage as a defense mechanism against predators. The caterpillar does not only mimic a snake in its appearance, it also acts like a snake as best as it can without any thoughts.
- Physical Mimicry: In its later instars (third to fifth), the caterpillar has a green or brown body with large, prominent eyespots on its thorax. These eyespots resemble a snake’s eyes, complete with a white “pupil” and a yellowish ring, creating the illusion of a snake’s head. The caterpillar’s body tapers to enhance this effect, mimicking a snake’s neck and head shape.
- Behavioral Mimicry: When threatened, the caterpillar retracts its head into its thorax, puffing up the eyespot area to emphasize the snake-like appearance. It may also sway or lunge slightly, imitating a snake’s movements to startle predators.
- Osmeterium Defense: If the mimicry fails, the caterpillar can extend its osmeterium, which is a forked, orange organ behind the head, which emits a foul odor to further repel predators. The osmeterium looks like a snake’s forked tongue and they can even extend and retract it–as a snake might flick its tongue out. This complements the snake mimicry by adding a chemical deterrent.
This mimicry is designed to trick predators that instinctively avoid snakes including birds that might love the flavor of a spicebush. The combination of visual deception, movement, and chemical defense makes the spicebush swallowtail caterpillar a challenging target.