The polydamas swallowtail caterpillar that I found yesterday is now in its chrysalis today.
My food source for them is almost gone and there are probably another two dozen if not more caterpillars in the garden. There’s probably a dozen in the butterfly house that I found roaming around the garden, crawling on the house, or walking down our pathway.
The polydamas swallowtail caterpillars are on the move again. The birthwort, its host plant, is almost gone, as the influx of caterpillars took to eating it almost to nothing.
When they are finished they start inching around the garden, causing you to look down to make sure you’re not stepping on them, instead of up.
Some have gone into the butterfly house, while others have started the chrysalis process on our house with creating its silk girdle.
The polydamas, “gold rim” swallowtail butterflies have had a phenomenal year in the butterfly garden so far this year.
There were a few days I didn’t have an opportunity to walk through the garden and by the third day, wow. My birthwort plant is crawling with a couple dozen polydamas caterpillars feasting away on its host plant.
It’s fun to watch these guys grow. When they are smaller they stay together in a pack, but eventually spread out as they get bigger.
The polydamas swallowtail chrysalis, I think, is very unique. The color often times depends on where they create it, as they can either be green, or brown.
The first one is well hidden in my Bahama cassia tree, resembling the color of a leaf. The last few photos are residing in my butterfly house and are brown, similar to the color of the branch.
It will be interesting to see how long before the butterflies emerge. The last batch overwintered, which was fascinating because I live in Southwest Florida where the temps usually do not turn too extreme.
I love watching the polydamas swallowtail caterpillars. The stages they go through and the size they become is fascinating. There are probably two dozen caterpillars on the birthwort eating.
The caterpillars grow up to 2.1″ in length.
