Pipevine Swallowtail

Written By: Highlands Biological Station | Issue: 2016/06 - June | Photograph By: Kevin Fitzpatrick

Pipevine caterpillars, are small and stick together when they are first born. They eat the leaves of their host plant and grow quickly. Plants in the Pipevine Family have chemicals in them which are poisonous to most animals. Caterpillars are able to eat them without being harmed. In fact, the chemicals stay inside the caterpillars and make them poisonous to most predators.