This spicebush swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio Troilus) is
busy eating its fill of its host plant, spicebush (Lindera benzoin). Very soon
it will stop eating and leave the plant to find a suitable place to pupate. It
will spend the winter as a chrysalis and if all goes well, will emerge in the
spring as a stunning adult butterfly. While many butterflies and moths over
winter in the pupa stage, some like the Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) and
the Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) are able to survive the
winter months as adults. They can often be seen flying on warm winter days.
