Tag Archives: Polydamas swallowtail butterfly

Right place, right time

Posted on by
Reply

While I was walking from the living room to the kitchen, I glanced out the back window and spotted a polydamas, gold rim, swallowtail butterfly circling the Dutchman Pipe. I quickly grabbed my camera and headed to the garden. I watched, took photos and filmed this female lay at least a dozen eggs.

She was so focused on her task at hand that she did not mind me taking more than a 100 photos.

The eggs she laid are approximately 1 mm in diameter and are partially covered by a nutritious secretion hard shell, which have vertical bands with large droplets. This secretion is produced by a gland that is above the female’s ovipository duct.

As the eggs mature and the larvae develop, they will turn a slight greenish color, approximately four to six days later.

When the caterpillars hatch, their first meal will be consuming the residual embryonic yolk, as well as the secretion on the outside of the egg.

The caterpillars will eat for about 19 to 24 days, with early instars molting, shedding old skin, about every four days.

Rescued

Posted on by
Reply

This polydamas swallowtail was rescued today from water. It sat on my hand for a little while drying its wings, before I put it on a penta flower to finish drying. When I came back, it had flown away. Successful rescue and first time this species of swallowtail sat on my hand long enough to really see the beautiful marking, even through the beat up wings.

The polydamas, or otherwise known as the gold rim swallowtail, has a very rapid beat when flying. Even when it is stopping for a drink of nectar, the wings are still beating.

I believe this is a male, as the yellow markings on the outside of its wings are narrow. The yellow on the female are wider.

She slowed down

Posted on by
Reply

The polydamas swallowtail has been my greatest challenge photographing in the garden. I am happy to say she slowed down long enough to lay eggs, giving me time to click numerous photographs documenting the process. Thankfully a few turned out, capturing this beauty laying her cluster of eggs.

They lay eggs in clusters and there are many on the new growth of our Dutchman pipe. I am constantly seeking new knowledge about the life cycle of the butterflies that are visiting our garden.

The eggs that a butterfly lays has an outer shell called chorion, which, the “Florida Butterfly Gardening,” book said “is secreted by the follicle cells in the ovarioles.” When laid on the host plant, it goes through two short appendages, which are at the tip of the abdomen, and is glued to the leaf in which it is laid. I have only seen this butterfly lay its eggs on the top of new leaves, or new vines. The butterfly below also laid two eggs on wire. The baby caterpillars are going to have to search for food when born.

Did you know that a female butterfly has eight ovarioles, enabling some species to lay hundreds of eggs in just a few hours? Wow. The “Florida Butterfly Gardening” book shared that only one egg goes from the ovarioles into the oviduct, a larger tube. The egg, which travels through the oviduct, is fertilized by sperm, which is stored in what is called the spermatheca. When the egg goes through an opening in the accessory gland, glue and nutrients are applied to the shell’s outer surface.

Look closely, the egg just emerged.
A cluster of eggs deposited on a Dutchman pipe vine.

Another tailless swallowtail

Posted on by
2

This afternoon we had number 17 polydamas swallowtail emerge in our butterfly house. It was super eager to be let go . . . did not hang around for a photograph on my finger as many other species do. Their wings flutter so fast, giving me quite a challenge to capture its beauty.

I love the photograph below, as another polydamas chrysalis is in the background. They are easiest to photograph, at least through my experience, shortly after they hatch.

With many other species the female is larger in size. The wingspan for this species is 9.2 to 11.6 centimeters. The coloration is very different from the underside of the wings, as shown below, to that of when the wings are completely open. The black and yellow is very pretty, as well as the splash of red on the underside.

Busy little, big caterpillars

Posted on by
Reply

The polydamas swallowtail caterpillars have certainly been busy in the garden eating the Dutchman pipe almost down to sticks, and traveling long distances to find areas to make its chrysalis.

This polydamas caterpillar traveled pretty far away from its Dutchman pipe. It was blowing in the wind when we found it on the branches.

The mature caterpillars can reach 2.1 inches in length before it starts its chrysalis. They remain in the caterpillar stage, four different instars, from 19 to 24 days to reach that desired length.

The polydamas caterpillar attached to its silken thread on a milkweed plant in the garden. To the right of it is a monarch egg that should hatch any day now, as it is turning a darker color.
Three polydamas chrysalis on a milkweed plant in our butterfly house.

Depending on where they make their chrysalis it will resemble either a green, or brown leaf, as pictured above. We also have chrysalis in the butterfly house that are either on branches or the sides of the house that are brown in color mimicking that dead leaf.

The silken thread is pretty amazing.

The polydamas swallowtail butterfly typically emerges from its chrysalis at about 18 days.

As always, check out my page on polydamas swallowtails: https://bit.ly/3MHVXnb.