Monarch Caterpillar
Murray is home! Today, I transfered him from a little jar and some ratty milkweed to a much bigger jar which will be his home until he emerges as an adult. I removed him from his leaf and placed him on some fresh milkweed.
He easts voraciously – within a few minutes on his new home, the leaf was shredded on one edge. I took him outside to photograph in natural light + a bit of fill flash using the Canon 100 mm macro. He has three pairs of thoracic legs and five pairs of prolegs (which you can see in this photo).
Murray also has 2 pairs of sensory tentacles, one pair on the head and another pair near the end of the abdomen. You can see both head tentacles and abdominal tentacles in this photo. Click on the image to see a larger version.