Category Archives: birthwort

Everywhere

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The polydamas swallowtail caterpillars are among the coolest to watch through its lifecycle. The population quickly explodes as the butterfly lays clusters of eggs.

They start off eating their meals together on the same leaf, before exploring on their own as they grow through their instars.

My birthwort, one of their host plants, was extremely bushy and lush looking a few weeks ago. Not so much anymore.

They are beginning to hit their ideal size . . . With the garden planted right outside my front door, you have to watch where youre walking as they are roaming everywhere to find that perfect final destination for their chrysalsis.

This morning I worked in the garden for a while and was rewarded with finding quite a few polydamas swallowtail in the beginning stages of creating their chrysalis.

A polydamas swallowtail caterpillar on a giant milkweed stem.
A polydamas swallowtail caterpillar on my home.
A polydamas swallowtail on the window ledge next to my daughter’s window.

Great activity

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Mornings are a great part of the day to walk through the garden and admire all the butterflies fluttering about.

The monarch butterfly could not get enough of nectar from one of the fire bush plants. It was awsome to watch its head disappear into the opening of the flower grabbing as much nectar as possible through its proboscis.

The polydamas swallowtails were also active, with three of them fluttering about. They were finding both its host plants, birthwort pucgured below, and stops on nectar plants throughout the entire length of the garden.

And of course it would not be complete without the active gulf fritillaries.

These guys are fun to watch, as they chase off many other species of butterflies while stopping on its favorite plants, porterweed.

Butterfly gardening has become such an amazing passion of mine. Who would have thought the saying “plant them and they will come” would continue to draw my excitement and attention almost 7 years later?

A meal together

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My garden finally has an abundance of polydamas caterpillars chowing down on a few different host plants – the Dutchman pipevine and birthwort. The butterfly is now visiting my garden on a daily basis. Good thing I have its host plant in a few different places and some of them have an abundance of leaves to feed the caterpillars.

The polydamas, also known as the gold rim swallowtail, tailless swallowtail and scientific name Battus polydamas lucayus, lays its eggs on the Dutchman pipe. This is the only swallowtail that lacks the tails at the base of the secondary wings, according to the University of Florida.

The polydamas swallowtail caterpillars feed in groups when they are small, devouring the youngest leaves, as well as flowers before moving onto the older portions of the plant.

The caterpillar will go through four instars, 19 to 24 days, before it’s ready to form its chrysalis. The colors of the caterpillars are a bit different during the first instar, with tan and small tubercles. Once the caterpillar molts into the second instar, they become dark brown with larger tubercles.

They have a black head, prothorax top is orange and short dark stripes. Once the caterpillars enter the third instar, the caterpillar becomes smoother with a glossy appearance.

And the number continues to hike

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The polydamas swallowtail butterflies continue to have a record year in our butterfly house. In 11 days, 81 have emerged, and that’s just in our butterfly house. I have found numerous empty chrysalis scattered throughout the garden.

Although the host plants are slowly growing back, the Dutchman pipe and birthwort, it is not stopping them from flying through the garden every day finding nectar sources.

The little things

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Thank goodness for good friends and their abundance of Dutchman Pipe . . . my explosion of  polydamas swallowtail caterpillars have more food!

It’s the little things that make me smile, such as going to my friends house to cut some of her Dutchman pipe to feed my caterpillars and finding some on hers as well. Another perk of butterfly gardening, sharing – both plant cuttings and caterpillars – so more can enjoy watching the lifecycle.

Best part, my little buddy, who was super excited to find a polydamas swallowtail walking down my sidewalk while he was over, is raising a couple dozen for me, so they continue to have plenty of food.

Never in all the years I have had a butterfly garden has the polydamas swallowtail population exploded to this amount. There’s probably close to 100 caterpillars!

These butterflies are having a record year, and now it’s host plant needs new growth, so they lifecycle can start all over again.