A bit of urban wildlife today, but it’s still wildlife!
First, reader Brian Cameron sends an arthropod and a mammal:
I am fairly certain that the first image is the caterpillar of the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio canadensis). I have read that it was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) but is now regarded as being a separate species. I found it crawling up an outdoor staircase at my house in Toronto a couple of months ago. If I have misidentified the species, perhaps a reader could correct the error. In any case, it looks as though there is some mimicry going on here with those pupillated spots resembling snake eyes. (I don’t have a macro lens, so the photo is not perfect).
About a month earlier, two juvenile raccoons (Procyon lotor) were running around our backyard in the mid-morning, when they should have been sleeping. I assumed that they were siblings.
And reader George Boley sends us some more urban wildlife:
Meet Groundy, the groundhog [Marmota monax] that lives near my office. My office is on the edge of a residential neighborhood and he lives in the yard next door. He is surprisingly tolerant of people and cars. He recently dug a new home right next to the sidewalk.
It is a tiger swallowtail caterpillar, and you can see here that it is one of those species that are thought to mimic a snake head.
The larva is normally green, but the dark color of this one means it will pupate very soon, possibly right where it is sitting.
I took a photo of this caterpillar in Wyoming and it was orange. Same species? It had the same eyes and lavender spots. I’ve been meaning to send it to PCC, but haven’t gotten around to it.
You’d swear thst those eyespots were “googly”:-)
The raccoons look sad.
I love groundhogs. I miss seeing them at my old work.
I love them too. This year was the first summer in many years that I didn’t have one living under my shed. Perhaps she didn’t survive the harsh winter we had.
The raccoon climbing the trellis is a really nice shot. Good job!
Groundy! I love names like that. Cute little bugger.
I think you got the species right on the caterpillar, and yes, it does try to mimic a snake, right down to having a red forked “tongue”. I remember seeing a green one in my family’s driveway. We freaked out because it freaked out and stuck out it’s forked “tongue” at us. I’m terrified of them now, but wonderful shots regardless!