Creepy Crawly Creatures

We experience a lot of interesting creatures in Arkansas. I found one of the more crazy ones sitting on my lemon tree the other day. He was so strange looking that I just had to share a few images...

When I first found it, I thought it was a snake. Upon further inspection I decided that it wasn't a snake, but I had no idea what else it could be. It was so ugly and viscous looking. I grabbed a stick to try and remove it from the tree, but as I did, a crazy snake like tongue came out of it's mouth and it released a horrible smelling odor. At this point, I was doubting my earlier confirmation that it was not a snake and decided to do a little internet search before I went any further with the crazy creature.

I learned that it was a Giant Swallowtail Caterpillar. It apparently disguises itself to look like bird dropping on a tree branch or leaf.   It turns into a big beautiful swallowtail butterfly. It is crazy to think that something this atrocious could turn into something so beautiful!

I was finally able to remove him from the tree, he was pretty upset with me. I threw him over my fence and hoped he will not return until he turns into a butterfly, and then he can visit as much as he wants.

I would much rather find one of these in my garden...

or some more of these...