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.
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.
The giant swallowtail caterpillar completed ita chrysalis this morning. The last one I raised took 22 days for it to emerge. It will be interesting to find out how long before it emerges and shows off its beauty.
