A giant swallowtail emerged today in our butterfly house. I had a few caterpillars that rode out Hurricane Milton in an enclosure in the garage for the day before I transported them back into the big butterfly house once the storm passed. A few days after putting them in the butterfly house, they created their chrysalis.
There are no other words to describe them than magnificent. The pure size of them is incredible.
I had three giant swallowtail caterpillars that I moved from my large butterfly house, which is located on my porch, to a smaller enclosure, to ride out Hurricane Milton safe in the garage.
Today, they were moved back to the larger butterfly house. They are on the move, ready to find that spot to make their chrysalis.
The giant swallowtail caterpillars have returned to my wild lime tree with three now in my butterfly house.
The caterpillar goes through five instars, with feeding typically taking place during night hours. 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.
I put a fresh branch of the wild lime tree in the butterfly house, which got the giant swallowtail caterpillars moving around. It’s fascinating to me to see this, as this little head pops out under what appears to be their protective armor, their bird poop appearance.
