Caterpillars can be amazingly beautiful:
Black swallowtail caterpillar
This black swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio polyxenes) is, I think, a prime example.
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The Dragonfly Woman 
What were the 5 things you learned at BUGSHOT? That post never made it through?
I accidentally hit the submit button before I’d actually typed anything and didn’t notice until I went to upload the post. Sorry about that! The post ended up on this webpage: https://thedragonflywoman.com/2012/08/24/bug-shot-2012/
beautiful caterpillar photo!
Thank you!
I have seen a very similar caterpillar around here but in orange and black, I wonder what kind of butterfly it may be. This one is beautiful.
Ooh, I bet your orange and black caterpillar is spectacular! Do you have a photo of it online somewhere that I can look at? I would love to see it.
Well, I found a photo, it’s not mine, but these are the ones I have seen around here. The photo perspective makes the caterpillar look like it’s humongous! http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7225/7305293356_0c92a95be0.jpg
How beautiful! That is quite the amazing caterpillar. Thanks for sharing!
Actually I’m afraid of handling them, I don’t know if they bite. :-)
It’s always possible to get bitten by anything that eats, so that’s not necessarily a bad policy! I tend to avoid picking up the hairy caterpillars or any of them with obvious spines, but I don’t worry about the rest. Getting stung is more likely than getting bitten in my experience.
Ohhh we have some hairy ones too and those I’d rather watch from a safe distance. LOL!
Amazing photo, love swallowtails, although never seen one for real. Is that fennel it’s crawling? Love reading your blog, you must be having a fascinating time.
Thank you so much! And that IS fennel! The black swallowtails love fennel and its relatives as caterpillars. I used to collect them on dill as a kid.