The world of a butterfly

Third stage

In the third larval instar, the caterpillar takes on its familiar black and pale green stripes and yellow spots.

Thanks to Richard Stickney, Butterfly Curator at the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science, for his help in developing this slideshow. The text of this page is copyright ©2009. All Rights Reserved. Images and other media may be licensed separately; see captions for more information and read the fine print. | About the photograph