Papilio polyxenes and the Forked Tongue

Black swallowtail with osmeterium extended, Austin, Texas, 22 May 2010

I promise.

Here is my last photo of a caterpillar for the near term (near term being tomorrow morning). But this is worth studying. The orange forked tongue-like organ is the osmeterium. This is a fleshy organ found in the caterpillars of the swallowtail butterflies. The osmeterium is only extended when the caterpillar is alarmed. When extended the organ emits smelly compounds believed to be pheromones, and the makeup of those pheromones differs from species to species. I cannot describe the smell; like chicken?

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