Raising Giant Swallowtails
To date, I have raised and released 15 Giant Swallowtail Butterflies (11 females and 4 males).
Giant Swallowtails enjoy sipping nectar from the blooms of Milkweed plants and Lantana, and females will lay eggs on citrus trees and Common Rue, and I have all of these plants in my gardens. So, beginning in the summer of 2016, whenever I found swallowtail eggs and larva on my orange leaves and Rue plants, I raised the caterpillars safely in mesh butterfly cages and documented their stages of development.
The Giant Swallowtail Butterfly is the largest butterfly species of North America with a wingspan ranging from 4 - 6 1/4 inches. The wings are colored black or blackish brown and feature yellow banding on both the fore and hind wing dorsally. On the ventral side, the wings are mainly yellow with black venation. Each hind wing tail features a yellow-orange colored eye, the eye can also appear reddish yellow. Another single blue band can be distinguished above the eye. Distinction between males and females is very difficult as both sexes are similar, however, females feature longer wing spans than males as adults.
The mature caterpillar resembles bird droppings to deter predators, and if that doesn't work they use their red horns (osmeterium) that emerge from the head of the caterpillar when it feels threatened. The osmeterium emits a pungent odor, that is supposed to make them unpalatable to predators, like ants.
When the caterpillar is ready to form a chrysalis they may travel a short distance to a vertically-oriented structure, such as a fence or other plant. The brownish chrysalis is typically oriented at 45° to the pupation substrate, its posterior end attached directly to a silken pad on the substrate by its Velcro-like cremaster, and its anterior end attached via a thin silken thread to the substrate.The chrysalis stage is variable but usually takes approximately three to four weeks before the butterfly emerges. However, if the caterpillar forms a chrysalis late in the year, it will wait until Spring to emerge.
The migration pattern is similar to that of Monarch Butterflies, Giant Swallowtails from the North migrate Southwards during the cold seasons.
Read MoreGiant Swallowtails enjoy sipping nectar from the blooms of Milkweed plants and Lantana, and females will lay eggs on citrus trees and Common Rue, and I have all of these plants in my gardens. So, beginning in the summer of 2016, whenever I found swallowtail eggs and larva on my orange leaves and Rue plants, I raised the caterpillars safely in mesh butterfly cages and documented their stages of development.
The Giant Swallowtail Butterfly is the largest butterfly species of North America with a wingspan ranging from 4 - 6 1/4 inches. The wings are colored black or blackish brown and feature yellow banding on both the fore and hind wing dorsally. On the ventral side, the wings are mainly yellow with black venation. Each hind wing tail features a yellow-orange colored eye, the eye can also appear reddish yellow. Another single blue band can be distinguished above the eye. Distinction between males and females is very difficult as both sexes are similar, however, females feature longer wing spans than males as adults.
The mature caterpillar resembles bird droppings to deter predators, and if that doesn't work they use their red horns (osmeterium) that emerge from the head of the caterpillar when it feels threatened. The osmeterium emits a pungent odor, that is supposed to make them unpalatable to predators, like ants.
When the caterpillar is ready to form a chrysalis they may travel a short distance to a vertically-oriented structure, such as a fence or other plant. The brownish chrysalis is typically oriented at 45° to the pupation substrate, its posterior end attached directly to a silken pad on the substrate by its Velcro-like cremaster, and its anterior end attached via a thin silken thread to the substrate.The chrysalis stage is variable but usually takes approximately three to four weeks before the butterfly emerges. However, if the caterpillar forms a chrysalis late in the year, it will wait until Spring to emerge.
The migration pattern is similar to that of Monarch Butterflies, Giant Swallowtails from the North migrate Southwards during the cold seasons.
A female Giant Swallowtail born on March 21, 2020. Note her empty chrysalis.
