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.
The giant swallowtail butterfly always makes me stare in awe. The size of these magnificent butterflies is truly breathtaking. I had four butterflies emerge this week and it was so neat to release them into the garden.
The wild lime tree, one of its many host plants, is growing a ton with all of the Southwest Florida rain, providing plenty of food for the caterpillars – the hope is there will soon be more eggs.
The giant swallowtails forewing span from 11.7 to 17.5 cm for males and 13.5 to 18.8 cm for females. This butterfly can be found throughout America from New England to Florida and the Caribbean, as well as Mexico and South America.
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.
