The giant swallowtail butterfly always makes me stare in awe. The size of these magnificent butterflies is truly breathtaking. I had four butterflies emerge this week and it was so neat to release them into the garden.
The wild lime tree, one of its many host plants, is growing a ton with all of the Southwest Florida rain, providing plenty of food for the caterpillars – the hope is there will soon be more eggs.
The giant swallowtails forewing span from 11.7 to 17.5 cm for males and 13.5 to 18.8 cm for females. This butterfly can be found throughout America from New England to Florida and the Caribbean, as well as Mexico and South America.
The giant swallowtail butterfly returned to my Southwest Florida garden a few weeks ago and left behind eggs! This is the first time I have had her visit the garden since Hurricane Ian in 2022. The wild lime is doing well – I have plenty of food for the caterpillars.
I was able to find four caterpillars on the tree, which have been put into my butterfly house, so we can watch them grow.
The caterpillar resembles that of bird poop, which helps when they are smaller as they sit on the top of surfaces in plain view.
According to the University of Florida, the giant swallowtail larvae have an osmeterium, “an orange, or reddish Y-shaped eversible gland,” that is used to wipe against small predators, such as ants and spiders. When the caterpillar is in its fourth and fifth instars it contains a highly noxious, pungent mixture of chemicals, which smells like rancid butter.
On Wednesday, May 3, my daughter and I celebrated a pretty exciting anniversary, the beginning of our butterfly gardening adventure. We purchased our first host and nectar plant in 2020 from All Native Garden Center, where I still to this day purchase a great deal of plants.
On our anniversary, my daughter asked how many butterflies we have raised since 2020. Well, today I counted and that number is 608, which includes nine different species! What better way to learn about nature than bringing them to you.
I cannot even fathom how many more butterflies have emerged from our garden, supporting the population in our area. I know we have also helped the lifecycle of the zebra longwing butterfly, cassius blue butterfly, dainty sulphur and the white checkered butterfly.
What started off with three plants has transformed our lives and continues to teach us a great deal of these extraordinary insects. I don’t think we are even close to finishing expanding our garden and inviting more species into our butterfly sanctuary, if you will.
426 monarch butterflies raised and released.
77 gulf fritillaries raised and released.
56 great southern white butterflies raised and released.
25 Julia butterflies raised and released.
3 giant swallowtail butterflies raised and released.
14 polydamas swallowtail butterflies raised and released.
4 sulphur butterflies raised and released.
2 eastern black swallowtail butterflies raised and released.
When we first began our butterfly house, I decided to keep count of how many we raised and released, as well as the species. I am so glad I did. Last year, 2022, was an incredible year in our butterfly house with seven species raised, totaling 374 butterflies.
Unfortunately since Hurricane Ian swept through our area in late September, I have not seen all of these species return. Their host plants have remained and are thriving, so hopefully as the seasons change, they will return and allow us to watch their process from egg to butterfly happen once again.
With that said, we also have frequent visitors from other species that I have not raised within the butterfly house, which include the zebra longwing butterfly and the white peacock butterfly. There is also a host of skippers that frequent the gardens for its nectar, but I have never found any eggs, or caterpillars.
I hope our garden, and butterfly house, thrives in 2023 as well.
I have listed the butterflies, as well as the number that we have released, with their photos below. To say I have compiled quite a library of butterfly photos is an understatement.
There is definitely a sense of thrill when you find a caterpillar that is not as abundant in the garden.
This morning a scan of our citrus tree revealed a very small giant swallowtail caterpillar hanging out on a leaf. When the caterpillar is young, they are predominately black, or brown, with a white saddle. When they become older, the saddle becomes white, or cream, while the remaining part of the caterpillar is dark brown.
Since it is probably in the first instar, I cut off the branch it was on and put it in a vase of water. I used saran wrap to stuff in the hole, so the caterpillar is safe from falling into the water. I sure hope this caterpillar makes it to the chrysalis stage and beyond. The giant swallowtail is absolutely stunning.
As always here’s a link to my page about giant swallowtails for more photographs and information: https://bit.ly/3KrqvKs.
The giant swallowtail, Papilio Cresphontes Cramer, is said to be very abundant in Florida. The caterpillar has been said to be a pest, and has been known as “orangedogs,” as it feeds heavily on citrus leaves. The wings are magnificent with a forewing span of 11.7 to 17.5 cm for males and 13.5 to 18.8 cm for females.
