The giant swallowtail butterfly has always been that show stopper for me. When I see it in the garden, everything comes to a stop. Today I grabbed my camera and ran out the door to capture some photographs of this beauty.

The best part is she left tons of eggs on the wild lime tree.

The giant swallowtail butterfly, papilio cresphontes cramer, is an abundant beauty in the state of Florida. Although butterfly enthusiasts love finding this butterfly in their garden, citrus farmers think they are a nuisance, as the caterpillars – orangedogs – eat the leaves of citrus plants.

I think the caterpillars are absolutely fascinating to watch.

I have three giant swallowtail caterpillars on my wild lime tree, one of its host plants, that I have been checking on daily.

I put a mesh bag around the leaves of the branch that each caterpillar is munching on to protect them from predators. I am happy to say the three are growing in size.

The caterpillar goes through five instars, with feeding typically taking place during night hours.

According to the University of Florida, the younger caterpillars are black, or brown, with a white saddle and have hairs on prominent knobs.

As they grow in size they are mottled dark brown with a white or cream-colored posterior, and no longer have knobs.

Each instar looks different in appearance. They resemble bird droppings when younger and rest on the top of the leaves. The larger caterpillar will rest on stems or leaf petioles.

These beauties capture your attention as they glide through the garden from one plant to another, as their forewing span is from 11.7-17.5 cm for males, and 13.5 to 18.8 cm for females.

The first time I saw the giant swallowtail butterfly, I knew I had to add a host plant to my garden so I can witness its graceful flight, as well as the lifecycle.