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Osmeterium
The osmeterium is a defensive organ found in all papilionid larvae, in all stages. The organ is situated in the prothoracic segment and can be everted when the larva feels threatened. The everted organ resembles a fleshy forked tongue (not unlike a snake tongue), and this along with the large eye-like spots on the body might be used to startle birds and small reptiles. The osmeterial organ remains inside the body in the thoracic region in an inverted position and is everted when the larva is disturbed in any way emitting a foul, disagreeable odor which serves to repel ants, small spiders and mantids. To humans, this odour is rather strong but not unpleasant, usually smelling like a concentrated scent of the caterpillar's food plant and pineapple. The constitution of the osmeterial secretion varies from species to species and contains monoterpene hydrocarbons, sesquiterpenic compounds or a mixture of aliphatic acids and esters. The fine structure of the osmeterium of '' Pa ...
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Papilionidae
Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful Butterfly, butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the largest butterflies in the world, the birdwing, birdwing butterflies of the genus ''Ornithoptera''. Swallowtails have a number of distinctive features; for example, the papilionid caterpillar bears a Ozopore, repugnatorial organ called the osmeterium on its prothorax. The osmeterium normally remains hidden, but when threatened, the larva turns it outward through a transverse dorsal groove by inflating it with fluid. The forked appearance in some of the swallowtails' hindwings, which can be seen when the butterfly is resting with its wings spread, gave rise to the common name ''swallowtail''. As for its formal name, Carl Linnaeus, Linnaeus chose ''Papilio'' for the type genus, as ''papilio'' is Latin for "butterfly". For the Specifi ...
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Papilio Demodocus
''Papilio demodocus'', the citrus swallowtail or Christmas butterfly, is a swallowtail butterfly which commonly occurs over the entirety of sub-Saharan Africa, including Madagascar, besides the southern Arabian Peninsula. The caterpillars feed on various native plants of especially the family Rutaceae, but have also taken to the leaves of cultivated citrus trees. Life cycle Citrus swallowtails pass through approximately three generations per year. Eggs Female butterflies lay their eggs singly on citrus leaves. After about six days, the egg hatches into an immature larva. Immature larva The immature larvae are black, yellow, and white with spikes. Their coloration provides effective camouflage, as they resemble bird droppings. They grow to a length of 10 or 15 mm before changing into mature larvae. Mature larva Mature larvae are green with white or pink markings and eyespots. They grow to a maximum length of about 45 mm. Mature caterpillars lack the camouflage of ...
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Papilio Xuthus Larva 2011-07-01
''Papilio'' is a genus in the swallowtail butterfly family, Papilionidae, as well as the only representative of the tribe Papilionini. The word ''papilio'' is Latin for butterfly. It includes the common yellow swallowtail (''Papilio machaon''), which is widespread in the Northern Hemisphere and the type species of the genus, as well as a number of other well-known North American species such as the western tiger swallowtail (''Papilio rutulus''). Familiar species elsewhere in the world include the Mormons (''Papilio polytes'', '' Papilio polymnestor'', '' Papilio memnon'', and '' Papilio deiphobus'') in Asia, the orchard and Ulysses swallowtails in Australia (''Papilio aegeus'', '' Papilio ulysses'', respectively) and the citrus swallowtail of Africa (''Papilio demodocus''). Older classifications of the swallowtails tended to use many rather small genera. More recent classifications have been more conservative, and as a result a number of former genera are now absorbed within '' ...
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Limonene
Limonene () is a colorless liquid aliphatic hydrocarbon classified as a cyclic monoterpene, and is the major component in the essential oil of citrus fruit peels. The (+)-isomer, occurring more commonly in nature as the fragrance of oranges, is a flavoring agent in food manufacturing. It is also used in chemical synthesis as a precursor to carvone and as a renewables-based solvent in cleaning products. The less common (−)-isomer has a piny, turpentine-like odor, and is found in the edible parts of such plants as caraway, dill, and bergamot orange plants. Limonene takes its name from Italian ''limone'' ("lemon"). Limonene is a chiral molecule, and biological sources produce one enantiomer: the principal industrial source, citrus fruit, contains (+)-limonene (''d''-limonene), which is the (''R'')-enantiomer. (+)-Limonene is obtained commercially from citrus fruits through two primary methods: centrifugal separation or steam distillation. In plants (+)-Limonene ...
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Myrcene
Myrcene, or β-myrcene, is a terpene, monoterpene. A colorless oil, it occurs widely in essential oils. It is produced mainly semi-synthetically from ''Myrcia'', from which it gets its name. It is an intermediate in the production of several fragrances. A less-common isomeric form, having one of the three alkene units in a different position, is α-myrcene. Production Myrcene is often produced commercially by the pyrolysis (400 °C) of β-pinene, which is obtained from turpentine. It is rarely obtained directly from plants. Plants biosynthesize myrcene via geranyl pyrophosphate (GPP), which isomerizes into linalool, linalyl pyrophosphate. An elimination reaction, releasing the pyrophosphate (OPP) and a proton, completes the conversion. Occurrence It could in principle be extracted from any number of plants, such as verbena or wild thyme, the leaves of which contain up to 40% by weight of myrcene. Many other plants contain myrcene, sometimes in substantial amounts. Some of ...
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Instar
An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'' 'form, likeness') is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, which occurs between each moult (''ecdysis'') until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or assume a new form. Differences between instars can often be seen in altered body proportions, colors, patterns, changes in the number of body segments or head width. After shedding their exoskeleton (moulting), the juvenile arthropods continue in their life cycle until they either pupate or moult again. The instar period of growth is fixed; however, in some insects, like the salvinia stem-borer moth, the number of instars depends on early larval nutrition. Some arthropods can continue to moult after sexual maturity, but the stages between these subsequent moults are generally not called instars. For most insect species, an ''instar'' is the developmental stage of the larval forms of holometabolous (complete metamorphism) or ny ...
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Larva
A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. A larva's appearance is generally very different from the adult form (''e.g.'' caterpillars and butterflies) including different unique structures and organs that do not occur in the adult form. Their diet may also be considerably different. In the case of smaller primitive arachnids, the larval stage differs by having three instead of four pairs of legs. Larvae are frequently adapted to different environments than adults. For example, some larvae such as tadpoles live almost exclusively in aquatic environments but can live outside water as adult frogs. By living in a distinct environment, larvae may be given shelter from predators and reduce competition for resources with the adult population. Animals in the lar ...
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2-methylbutyric Acid
2-Methylbutanoic acid, also known as 2-methylbutyric acid is a branched-chain alkyl carboxylic acid with the chemical formula CH3CH2CH(CH3)CO2H, classified as a short-chain fatty acid. It exists in two enantiomeric forms, (''R'')- and (''S'')-2-methylbutanoic acid. (''R'')-2-methylbutanoic acid occurs naturally in cocoa beans and (''S'')-2-methylbutanoic occurs in many fruits such as apples and apricots, as well as in the scent of the orchid ''Luisia, Luisia curtisii''. History 2-Methylbutanoic acid is a minor constituent of ''Angelica archangelica'' and the perennial flowering plant Valerian (herb), valerian (''Valeriana officinalis''), where it co-occurs with valeric acid and isovaleric acid. The dried root of this plant has been used medicinally since antiquity. The chemical identity of all three compounds was first investigated in the 19th century by oxidation of the components of fusel alcohol, which includes the five-carbon amyl alcohols. Among the products isolated was ...
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Isobutyric Acid
Isobutyric acid, also known as 2-methylpropanoic acid or isobutanoic acid, is a carboxylic acid with structural formula ( CH3)2CH COOH. It is an isomer of butyric acid. It is classified as a short-chain fatty acid. Deprotonation or esterification gives derivatives called isobutyrates. Isobutyric acid is a colorless liquid with a somewhat unpleasant odor. It is soluble in water and organic solvents. It is found naturally in carobs ('' Ceratonia siliqua''), in vanilla, and in the root of ''Arnica dulcis'', and as an ethyl ester in croton oil. Production Isobutyric acid is manufactured by the oxidation of isobutyraldehyde, which is a byproduct of the hydroformylation of propylene. It can also be prepared by the high pressure hydrocarboxylation ( Koch reaction) from propylene: :CH3CH=CH2 + CO + H2O → (CH3)2CHCO2H Isobutyric acid can also be manufactured commercially using engineered bacteria with a sugar feedstock. Laboratory methods Many routes are known incl ...
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