Tag Archives: Polydamas swallowtail butterfly

Seven more beauties

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Today our butterfly house came alive with seven more polydamas swallowtails emerging from their chrysalis. I have yet to see one crawl out! One day I will be in the perfect place at the right time.

We have had 23 emerge in our butterfly house since Thursday, July 6! To say the polydamas swallowtails are having an excellent summer so far is an understatement. We have three more chrysalis in our butterfly house and TONS of caterpillars still in our garden.

Today my daughter and her friend saw one polydamas caterpillar, which was in its last instar, walking down our driveway, which is not too safe, if I say so myself. So that one, and another walking around a giant milkweed leaf away from its host plant, are now residents in our butterfly house. The last check they had found their resting place ready to make its chrysalis.

Here is an assortment of photos from those that were released. They are gorgeous, the tailless butterfly. They always make me smile when I see them flying about the garden, which is now many every day. The best part is they are hanging out in my front garden, rather than the one in the backyard, the first time since I started the gardens almost three years ago at this house!

As always, check out here for more information: https://sweetbutterflybliss.com/polydamas-swallowtail-butterfly-2

608

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On Wednesday, May 3, my daughter and I celebrated a pretty exciting anniversary, the beginning of our butterfly gardening adventure. We purchased our first host and nectar plant in 2020 from All Native Garden Center, where I still to this day purchase a great deal of plants.

On our anniversary, my daughter asked how many butterflies we have raised since 2020. Well, today I counted and that number is 608, which includes nine different species! What better way to learn about nature than bringing them to you.

I cannot even fathom how many more butterflies have emerged from our garden, supporting the population in our area. I know we have also helped the lifecycle of the zebra longwing butterfly, cassius blue butterfly, dainty sulphur and the white checkered butterfly.

What started off with three plants has transformed our lives and continues to teach us a great deal of these extraordinary insects. I don’t think we are even close to finishing expanding our garden and inviting more species into our butterfly sanctuary, if you will.

426 monarch butterflies raised and released.

77 gulf fritillaries raised and released.

56 great southern white butterflies raised and released.

25 Julia butterflies raised and released.

3 giant swallowtail butterflies raised and released.

14 polydamas swallowtail butterflies raised and released.

4 sulphur butterflies raised and released.

2 eastern black swallowtail butterflies raised and released.

1 queen butterfly raised and released.

374 butterflies

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When we first began our butterfly house, I decided to keep count of how many we raised and released, as well as the species. I am so glad I did. Last year, 2022, was an incredible year in our butterfly house with seven species raised, totaling 374 butterflies.

Unfortunately since Hurricane Ian swept through our area in late September, I have not seen all of these species return. Their host plants have remained and are thriving, so hopefully as the seasons change, they will return and allow us to watch their process from egg to butterfly happen once again.

With that said, we also have frequent visitors from other species that I have not raised within the butterfly house, which include the zebra longwing butterfly and the white peacock butterfly. There is also a host of skippers that frequent the gardens for its nectar, but I have never found any eggs, or caterpillars.

I hope our garden, and butterfly house, thrives in 2023 as well.

I have listed the butterflies, as well as the number that we have released, with their photos below. To say I have compiled quite a library of butterfly photos is an understatement.

Julia butterflies (8);

eastern black swallowtail (2);

giant swallowtail (2);

cloudless sulphur (3);

polydamas swallowtail (14);

gulf fritillary (71)

and monarch butterflies (274).

Emerged

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A polydamas swallowtail butterfly, which created its chrysalis in our butterfly house before Hurricane Ian hit Southwest Florida, emerged today.

Unfortunately the hurricane took all of its host plant, the Dutchman pipe, with it, so it will be a while before this beauty lays anymore eggs in our garden. Thankfully the hurricane spared some nectar plants for it to feed on still.

I will post more photos of this beauty once I can download them from my camera to the computer.

She’s back . . .

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The polydamas swallowtail butterfly came back to lay more eggs on our Dutchman Pipe. They lay anywhere between 10-14 eggs, which are laid on new leaves, and vines.

The young caterpillars have been said to be very social and hang out together eating, feeding and molting. As they grow older they tend to go their own way.

I have found that the caterpillars will eat the petiole of the leaf, making the rest of it fall to the ground before completely eaten.