REALLY WEIRD BUG

Ok, my dad found this weird looking bug on our garage door. I've never seen a bug that actually has eyes like this!!!!! can anyone tell me what kind of bug this is!?!?! i tried looking online and it was unsuccessful.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...1/MVC-535F.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...1/MVC-533F.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...1/MVC-531F.jpg

my dad said he thinks its a baby tomato caterpillar.... ehhhh but i dno, its like a demon bug with human eyes. :shock:

it's not a tomato horned worm if that's what your dad was thinking. they are green with white and black spots/stripes and they have a red "horn" sticking up off of their rear end. it is definitely some kind of caterpillar though. too bad my dad the forester isn't here right now. he can identify every bug and plant in the world. :D

ok now this is bothering me. i've seen this caterpillar before i just don't remember the name of it. aaah!

Hehe, nevermind.... we did some more research and found out its a Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly..... its amazing such an ugly caterpillar can evolve into such a beautiful butterfly!

http://www.1000plus.com/Hbirds/00072...ntana%2005.JPG

how perty :)

Wow, that is friggin weird.

i was gonna say i thought it was some sort of swallowtail. :D i couldn't find the one that looked exactly like that though. there are a bunch of different kinds of tiger swallowtails. do you know specifically which one that is?

ummm all i found was that its typically found in eastern u.s. boy do i love computers, you can learn so much from googling. lol

it's all good. one day i'll ask my dad the bug identification genius. to the rest of us, that's just a regular tiger swallowtail and that's that, but i'm sure he will have specifics to offer. :D

I'm not the only one here that noticed the smiley face right? =/ :shock:

Those eyes are actually a form of protection; predators see it, freak out since it makes the bug look like a fairly-sized animal probably not worth getting into a fight with, and leave the vulnerable larva alone.
Entomology 253: Yes, it really does have a purpose in real life! :D

lol, i learned that afterwards.