I've recently discovered the delightful news that there are several different species of dragon head caterpillars (such as Polyura athamas aka common nawab, and Charaxes wakefieldi aka the Forest queen) as well as there being multiple emperor caterpillars (such as Sasakia charonda aka the Japanese emperor, and Asterocampa clyton aka the tawny emperor).
How many dragon head caterpillars and emperor caterpillars are you aware of? And could you talk about the purpose of their "horns"?
I think there are a couple hundred species of each. For dragon-headed caterpillars (Charaxini), I read some time ago that they have venomous spines on their horns that can cause irritation if you touch them, so the horns would be defensive. Plus having big horns on your head makes you look bigger, more formidable, and harder to swallow. And I don't think it hurts when it comes to blending in with plants, either.
I can't say for sure with emperors (Apaturinae), but I imagine the horns are defensive and camouflage as well. As far as I know their horns are not venomous, but anyone feel free to correct me if you've read otherwise.
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Emperor Pumas
I drew two versions of these guys, because the first time they were mentioned, they were described as “squat [cats] with wing-like appendages on [their sides], clawed feet, and jet black cat’s [heads].” I couldn’t find any mention of where the “emperor” part of their name came from, so my best guess was an emperor penguin. A couple episodes later Clint mentioned the wing Emerich had fixed was a butterfly wing. I’ll admit butterflies had not been on my radar, so I looked up the emperor butterfly and the rest is history.
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Tawny emperor!
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💜 Spencer Calloway 💜
❌ DO NOT REPOST ❌
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🔹Name: Spencer Calloway
🔹Gender: Male
🔹Age: 27 (Died 1977/ Born 1950)
🔹Sexuality: Bisexual
🔹Species: Purple Emperor Butterfly 🦋
🔹Personality: Extremely flirty, Show-off, narcissistic (a little), determined, sensual, confident.
🔹Hobbies: Disco, Dancing, Flirting & drinking
🔹Likes: Cocktails, clothes shopping and pestering his so-called straight friends. Teasing Casey to give him a “try”.
🔹 Dislikes: Clingy partners, anybody prettier than him.
🔹Backstory: COMING SOON.
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Art by @wintercinnamontea
Inspired by Dan Avidan (Character singing voice & stylisation)
Singing Voice: https://open.spotify.com/track/6Ws0pJ7PHpw8OXMZNw5rTH?si=iVx3rUbITJqcu4BdmxSFJg
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emperor butterfly
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Got a bilateral gynandromorph pin from @greer-art (aka @pangur-and-grim ) and Wow 👌
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Lesser Purple Emperor (Apatura ilia), family Nymphalidae, Lohja, Finland
photograph by Matti Okko
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An African emperor moth (Gonimbrasia zambesina) in Kruger National Park, South Africa, Africa
by Bernard Dupont
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@foolishrats submitted: I found this lil fella on my porch and safely relocated them.
Found in central Texas, wondering what species they are. My mom says Tomato horn worm, but when looking them up they're a lot fatter than this one.
What a little cutie! This is one of the hackberry emperor butterflies in the genus Asterocampa, and not a hornworm. Hornworms, which are sphinx moths in the family Sphingidae, have a single horn on their butt. This sweet lil friend has two head horns and two butt tails instead! Fancy! :)
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If you know, you know
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Uncharismatic Fact of the Day
Not all butterflies enjoy flower nectar; some, like the purple emperor butterfly, have a more eclectic diet. These beauties are commonly found around carrion and roadkill, sucking out the nutritious fluids in the rotting meat. They will also feed on honeydew produced by aphids, tree sap, dung, and urine.
(Image: A pair of purple emperor butterflies (Apatura iris) feeding on scat by Mathew Oates)
If you like what I do, consider leaving a tip or buying me a ko-fi!
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💙Laurie Zinna 💙
Art by @/chan_ryku (Twitter)
Revamp for HH/HB
Name: Lawerence, Laurie or LaLa.
Age: 32
Personality: Grumpy, stern, protective, loyal.
Sexuality: Demisexual Biromantic
Occupation: Hairdresser/ Manager to little brother.
Species: Emperor Butterfly 🦋
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