Hidden well

The polydamas swallowtail chrysalis, I think, is very unique. The color often times depends on where they create it, as they can either be green, or brown.

The first one is well hidden in my Bahama cassia tree, resembling the color of a leaf. The last few photos are residing  in my butterfly house and are brown, similar to the color of the branch.

It will be interesting to see how long before the butterflies emerge. The last batch overwintered, which was fascinating because I live in Southwest Florida where the temps usually do not turn too extreme.

The girdle

The polydamas swallowtail caterpillars are so neat to watch. First they attach a silk pad with its terminal prolegs, so it can hang from its silk girdle before they finish their chrysalis. Depending on where they create their chrysalis it can be either green, or brown. The ones on the Dutchman pipe are green, while the others on the enclosure are brown to match the wood.

The hunt

It’s interesting to see just how far a caterpillar will crawl to find its final destination for a chrysalis. This polydamas swallowtail chrysalis is quite far from its host plant creating a bit of a shock when I spotted it on my daughter’s playground. It also surprised me the chrysalis was not brown to match the wood it created its chrysalis upon.

I have to say part of the fun of having a butterfly garden is the hunt of finding where the caterpillars end up.