Enigmatic Swallowtail Butterfly

Enigmatic Swallowtail Butterfly

(Papilio polytes)

"I rest now and someday I'll metamorphose 

into something beautiful in the eyes of humans, 

so beautiful and dainty no one will ever ask 

what I was before." - avr

Dr Abe V Rotor

Caterpillars of Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio polytes) 

feeding on citrus leaves, appear like droppings of birds, 

a camouflage from would-be predators. When disturbed 

they exude an obnoxious odor which likewise serves

as natural protection. 

Obnoxious I look and smell no one dares to get near,

much less to pick me neither by beak nor tongue,   

for my enemies are few, so my friends - if I know;

you see, if you are ugly and dirty no one bothers you,

like anyone else not excluding some humans;

but in my case Nature designed me this way, 

and she thinks I'm beautiful, to me it is a gift of life;

surviving a cruel world.  I rest now and someday

I'll metamorphose into something beautiful 

in the eyes of humans, so beautiful and dainty

no one will ever ask what I was before. ~

                                          Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio polytes)

The word papilio is Latin for butterfly. Papilio is a genus in the swallowtail butterfly family, Papilionidae, as well as the only representative of the tribe Papilionini. Wikipedia