Lepidopterans with Cater-mittens
Taking a break from the regularly scheduled wildflower report to bring you this - what I believe is the final instar phase of the Papilio zelicaon, also known as the Anise Swallowtail.
Let's back this science bus right on up though - what even is a caterpillar? A caterpillar is the second stage of life in the insects belonging to the class Lepidoptera (butterflies & moths - which fun fact, you can tell the difference between a moth and a butterfly by how they position their wings while resting - pulled up and away and it's a butterfly, down and out and it's a moth *as with everything in life though, there are a few exceptions to this rule). There are four stages in the lives of lepidopterans - egg, larva (which is the caterpillar), pupa, and adult. The purpose of the larva stage is for them to gain adequate energy stores to get to their adult phase - which means they are straight up eating machines. They all have big, adorable, squishy bodies, three pairs of thoracic legs (the upper ones with the little claws on the front) and up to 5 pairs of prolegs (or cater-mittens as I'd really like for them to be called - because look at those cute little cater-paws!).
The anise swallowtail gets it's name from the fennel it's caterpillars like to chow on. These guys are widely common out here in the western United States - they can be found as high up as Canada and as far south as Mexico! They have five instar phases, the final one being the bright green guy you see above. In the Rocky Mountains, anise swallowtails generally take flight in May at elevations around 5000 feet; June at elevations around 6-7,000 feet; and July at 8-9,000 feet *fact from @raisingbutterflies.org. I found this little dude at about 7,950 feet, so he should be taking flight in just a few weeks!
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