The polydamas swallowtail population has exploded in the garden! The caterpillars are on the move, crawling everywhere in my front garden. Some on the sidewalk, others on the driveway, or the house. All of them have gone into my new butterfly house where they can create their chrysalis.
Many of the caterpillars have been their chrysalis in the Dutchman pipe plant. Itsbeen fun finding them. They blend in perfectly!
Who would have guessed planting an extensive butterfly garden out my front window would have so many perks? I wanted to plant the garden there, so when I sat in my living room, I could watch the butterflies flutter by the window. (Yes, I do this more than I can count.)
A perk?
Caterpillars crawling to the area around my front door to create its chrysalis. Today, the surprise was a polydamas swallowtail. It has its silk pad and girdle created. The hope is to catch it creating its chrysalis, as it is located right out our front door.
I have lost count of the number of chrysalis that have been located in this little area surrounding my door. A definite bonus of the garden!
Another polydamas swallowtail butterfly emerged in our butterfly house today. This one is No. 50. Another amazing release. This one stayed with me for quite some time before it flew away into the trees.
This butterfly can be found throughout peninsular Florida and southern Texas. I have read that the caterpillar season is throughout the year in Florida. I don’t know if the season changed with Hurricane Ian devastating the area last September, but we did not start seeing them in our garden until late May, early June. They have had an incredible year so far since then, with more eggs laid.
I love, love, love my nightly stroll through the garden. One, because the scorching, awful heat isn’t as bad around the 7’oclock hour, and two, I love spotting the acticity taking place in the garden.
With the almost daily rain, everything is lush and growing really well. I have finally decided to tackle my back butterfly garden again, which is where I found the treasures today. I have my husband on board to help build some trellises for both the Dutchman pipe and the maypop passionvine. My garden will look amazing when those projects become complete.
My Dutchman pipe is crawling with polydamas caterpillars once again on all three plants. How many can you could? I see six all sharing the same part of the vine.
It’s always fun to take a stroll in and around the garden to find where the caterpillars end up.
I found one polydamas swallowtail far away from the garden, on the corner of my house, and another hiding in the Bahama cassia tree, still in the safety of the garden.
They are definitely on the move! I am looking down more than up as I move around the gardens to make sure I am not stepping on any caterpillars moving about.
