photo: user dynastor via insecte.org
photo: François Bondil
photo: Sidney Vargas
photo: Flickr user pbertner
photo: Flickr user Wolfgang Walz Hillermann
Habitat: Mexico to Panama , in Colombia , in Ecuador , in Bolivia , in Peru , in Brazil , in Surinam , in Guyana and Guyana
Status: Not Listed
Well guys, after a long and much needed hiatus… I have returned! And what better day to return than on (drum roll please)… my birthday!! 🙂 Yes, I have reached the ripe-old age of 24 and am celebrating by posting about a very strange crowned caterpillar. Really wouldn’t want things to be any other way!
This is Cassia’s Owlet Butterfly (Opsiphanes cassiae) a really punk-rock-lookin’ creature that begins its life as a caterpillar with an elaborate crown of sorts. Its orange/yellow head it encompassed by several shot horns that make it appear similar to a Chinese Dragon, though not as spectacular (but close).
photo: user dynastor via insecte.org
To complete the fearsome look, it’s got a forked tail that sports blue stripes. Radical, dude.
photo: user dynastor via insecte.org
When it’s done going through its punk-rock-look-ma-i’m-a-dragon phase of life, it transforms into this rather drab-looking butterfly. I guess it’s a real rags to riches story… reversed!
photo: sangay.eu
It doesn’t lose its grandeur, however, as the butterfly remains quite large with a wingspan of 84 mm at the outer edge of the forewing.
//youtube.com/watch?v=pWFFk-COB3o
Mexico to Panama , in Colombia , in Ecuador , in Bolivia , in Peru , in Brazil , in Surinam , in Guyana and Guyana , .
