Every day since late last week I have had polydamas swallowtail butterflies emerge from their chrysalsis in our butterfly house.
Yesterday I had 9 emerge and today I had 7 for a total of 187 all time raised and released, with 19 in six days. The wonderful part, there are more yet to show their beauty!
My influx of polydamas swallowtail caterpillars have almost all went into their chrysalis.
There are a few left still munching away on some Dutchman pipe, their host plant.
Today, on this glorious 4th of July, the first of probably dozens, has emerged.
This one marks 169 that we have successfully raised and released. Since it did not want to leave my finger, I left it on my purpletop vervain, which is doing incredibe with our daily down pours, so it can fly away when ready
I have always wondered how a polydamas swallowtail has made its chrysalsis. I have read about the transformation, have seen the first step and the last step, but never the in-between until last night.
When the caterpillar is ready to enter its next stage it attaches a silk pad with its terminal prolegs, so it can hang from a silk girdle.
After the sun had gone down, the caterpillars started to do their dance as I was walking past the butterfly house. Another perk of having a butterfly garden, my husband’s beautiful creation of a butterfly house that has allowed countless viewings of the lifecycle.
I was so excited to witness the polydamas swallowtail make its chrysalis that I ran and grabbed my phone to record the incredible transformation.
It took more than 5 minutes for the caterpillar to complete the transformation. Check out the link below for the complete video on my Facebook page and be sure to follow for additional photographs and videos from the garden.
https://www.facebook.com/share/1Bx1Vx5Tv8/
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.
