Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Life Cycle Photos
How to Raise Eastern Tiger Swallowtails from tiny egg to brilliant butterfly
It all started last season, when our yard garden was taken over by a swarm of eastern tiger swallowtails (Papilio glaucus). We always have a few wander in over the season, but last July something spectacular happened. We had about eight tiger swallowtails hanging out in our garden in July and part of August…every day!
They were very friendly and often followed us around as we were tending to the butterfly garden. They liked many of the same nectar flowers as the monarchs, but their home base was the Mexican sunflowers.
Earlier that spring, we had added two chokecherry trees in hopes of hosting some of their eggs and baby caterpillars. After that amazing season, I was determined to offer them more options to entice them to stay.
Unlike milkweed-obsessed monarchs, the eastern tiger swallowtail will lay eggs on a wide range of host plants. Their butterfly life cycle also takes up to 2 months, so the odds are stacked against northern gardeners wanting to raise them with fewer generations and more plants to search!
We didn’t have enough space to add full-grown trees, so we stuck with some smaller host options. We planted a waferash tree, a slow-grower that tops out at 20 feet. We also planted a black cherry tree…in a container!
Our summer of tigers continued with record numbers next spring. I was hopeful that our new host plant additions would catch their attention…
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Eggs
On May 13th I was planting in our garden. I looked up and a large tiger female almost flew right into me.
We had just bought our new host plants 3 days before, and they had not been permanently planted. That left just one good option to check for eggs…our chokecherry trees!
I looked at the first tree, which had fading blooms, and noticed there were lots of potential predators (e.g. ants, spiders) crawling around. The second tree was a few feet away and would not bloom this spring. There were no predators crawling around, but I came across 3 curiously camouflaged circles on separate leaves…
I consulted mother google to confirm my hopes, and I was ready to raise!
Other common host plants for eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillars include Prunus serotina (wild black cherry), Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree), and Magnolia virginiana (sweet bay magnolia).
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillars
The eggs took a full week to hatch. All 3 baby caterpillars quickly darkened with white saddles across their backs. A closer look reveals the beginnings of false eyespots that will become more prominent later. These false eyes are supposed to fool predators into thinking the caterpillar is actually a snake. It’s hard to believe this snaky disguise would fool very many or for very long…
When feeding caterpillars, the wafer-thin chokecherry leaves dry our quickly unless you use the floral tubes and rack method we use to feed monarch caterpillars. Check out other helpful raising tools and tips on my Raising Resource Page
As the tiger swallowtails continued to grow, they started to go through some major changes…what I affectionately call the awkward teenage phase. Each caterpillar starts to turn green, as the false eyes turn blue with outer orange rims. There are also small purple dots from its false eyes down to its final pair of prolegs…zits?
So, if those are false eyes, you’re probably wondering what the actual eastern tiger caterpillar’s head looks like?
The changes continue as the caterpillar sheds its skin to enter the next stage of development or instar…
Instar 4 from a cuter angle…awwwwww
In the 5th and final instar, before forming its chrysalis, the caterpillar turns green as its white saddle has completely disappeared. It does, however, retain it’s yellow ring and purple dots.
Instar five caterpillars finally start to show some serious growth
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Chrysalides (or Chrysalises)
When the caterpillar coloration starts to resemble a UPS truck, you’ll know the next phase of caterpillar transformation is about to begin…
Shortly after the caterpillar turns brown, it purges out undigested food. Many are alarmed when they see this and think the caterpillar is sick. Don’t worry, it’s what the big cat needs to do before moving on to the next stage of metamorphosis.
Raising Tip: to prevent the purge from staining your cage floor, use a caterpillar cage liner.
I had thought I was being smart by putting a stick inside the cage for them to form their chrysalides on. My plan was to remove the stick after all four had pupated so I could have the cage back for raising monarchs. Only one complied…
The remaining three caterpillars formed a conga line on the upper corner of their mesh caterpillar cage.
The third caterpillar then proceeded to attach himself to the bottom of the second chrysalis…
Close quarters isn’t necessarily a problem, but keep in mind they can stay in chrysalis for for weeks, or even months. So, if you’re concerned about chrysalis placement or just want your cage back sooner, here’s a solution to solve all your chrysalis problems
A monarch chrysalis will hatch reliably in 7-10 days, but the swallowtail family is on their own schedule. They can take 2-3 weeks, or longer if they see fit. If you’re raising toward the end of the season, they may even decide to overwinter until next season.
Since my raising adventure started in early spring, all four butterflies eclosed by mid-July. The fifth caterpillar fell from a chokecherry cutting while attempting to molt (shed its skin). It was a small caterpillar and did not recover from the fall.
4 Eastern Tigers raised later in the season, will overwinter as chrysalides in our 3-season porch. The adult butterflies won’t emerge until next spring…
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies
The first two that emerged from their chrysalides were males. I let each one sun dry outside in the mesh cage for a couple hours, and then released them. They were magnificent and both had strong wings!
Having the chrysalises bunched together was not an issue, as each butterfly emerged on a different day.
The butterflies are yellow with black stripes that resemble tiger stripes.
After the males were successfully released came two big surprises! The last two butterflies were female, but they were not your typical eastern tiger swallowtail female…they were both dark form!
It is believed that dark form tiger swallowtails are a defense mechanism against potential predators like birds. The dark form females are supposed to mimic the poisonous pipevine swallowtail, which can make some predators sick….
Both dark females were also healthy and the final female took some nectar nourishment from a butterfly bush before disappearing high into the trees. We regularly see eastern tiger butterflies nectaring on a wide variety of native and non-native flowers including: lilac bushes, joe-pye weed, zinnias, Mexican sunflowers and more…
Raising the eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly was a truly fantastic experience we hope to continue next season…I hope you can too!
Please Read the Comments Section below for more info about Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies.
Hi there! I’m in North KCMO, and we found one of these little guys yesterday, wandering around the deck we’re building and I made it a little home so it wouldn’t get hurt. I did a little research and put leaves and things from around here that they’re attracted to. I also placed a few twigs and ventilated the top of the big glass jug. This was going to be temporary to keep it out of harms way while we work, but this morning it seems to be attached to the twig and looks a little shrivelled and I can’t tell if it’s dying or about to go into chrysalis! I didn’t save it just to accidentally kill it, does it do this right before?? I’ve been searching all over for a picture, or info on how long it takes them to chrysalis, or what it looks like. Any advice you could give me would be much appreciated! Also, it was ups brown yesterday so according to your site, in it’s last stages before cocooning. Thank you!
Hi Lori, if it’s not attached to anything and appears to be ‘shriveling up’ that’s probably not a good sign, but give it a couple days to see what happens. good luck!
We just found one at the “we think it’s sick stage” what should we feed it?
It was in the middle of the sidewalk and about to get trampled on so my seven yo brought it home.
Hi Sara, if it’s turning brown it doesn’t need to eat anymore…it just needs a place to pupate. If it’s still feeding check out this butterfly host plants list:
Butterfly Host Plants
Ok! Questions, questions, only because I want to make sure I am doing this right! I found a swallowtail caterpillar while searching my parsley garden today and decided I wanted to try to raise him as my own! I put him in a gallons size clear container with paper towels in the bottom, some sticks and more parsley, cheese cloth for the lid. He doesn’t really move a whole lot just yet I wasn’t sure if he was just scared but I’ve never actually saw him walk for myself. But I’ve walked away and came back and he had moved. Still completely bright in color. I was curious if I needed to spray some water into the container to keep it moist? A little opinion maybe on my set up? And just any additional tips to help me out and make this successful for the both of us! Thanks.
Hi Lita, I use mesh cages to raise swallowtails. I wouldn’t spray inside plastic or glass cages because there isn’t good air circulation. You can just spray the host plant with water when it’s outside the cage while you are cleaning.
here’s some info on overwintering swallowtails you should find helpful:
How to Overwinter Swallowtails
Awesome. The next day after writing to you he has attached under one of the sticks and is starting his cocoon. I plan to keep him possibly on the back porch though winter so he doesn’t decide to come early since it’s so late in he season but won’t get snowed on.
It’ll be fine. I mist a bit of water in the cage. They don’t need a lot of water. Make sure it has something to hang on for the coccoon form!
How long does it take to hatch? I’m worried about mine. It’s been in a coccoon for 2 weeks and a couple of days and still looks like the same thing! It isn’t changing color. Is their anything I can do to keep it healthy and know if it’s even still alive?
Hi Cindy, I’m not sure if there’s a way to tell if the chrysalis is still viable, but I wouldn’t worry after just two weeks. If you still have warm weather it could still eclose this fall. Otherwise, you can overwinter according to the directions in the post…good luck!
A friend gave us 4 Tiger Swallowtail eggs last week for our classroom. They hatched 6 days after she & her son saw them being laid on a parsley plant (we had them for a day before they hatched). I’ve asked and asked if she’s SURE it was a Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly and not a Black Swallowtail Butterfly due to the host plant. The caterpillars seem to be content with the parsley sprigs I’ve placed in the container but I’m concerned if this is truly the proper host plant for them. Also it’s pretty late in the season…or I feel like it is. We live in NC so it’s still very warm here & will continue to be through October usually (who knows winters are typically mild). Do you think they’ll overwinter? Once they form a chrysalis do I leave them inside or outside on our covered porch. I can also do the garage which isn’t heated. So many questions. I don’t want to mess this up. The children are fascinated as am I. Thank you for your help!
Hello Meredith and congrats! I’ve never heard of tiger swallowtails eating parsley so my guess is you are raising black swallowtails…tiger and black swallowtails look completely different as large caterpillars so you will be able to tell in the coming weeks. Yes, they should overwinter. I would leave them outside on your covered porch or they will probably hatch during the winter…not good!
Here’s more info on eastern tigers (so you can confirm later it’s not these guys). The raising process is basically the same except for host plants. (black swallowtails eat parsley, rue, carrots, smokey fennel)
Raising Swallowtails
We just found this guy today (9/11/16)….we are totally unprepared, but would love to watch it transform!
Right now he’s in a mason jar with a green elm twig that has a leaf attached (it was on the elm tree)…what should we do?!
Hi Tresa, if its forming a chrysalis you should be fine with your set up. If it’s still feeding you will need to provide it with more host plant to feed on (if the caterpillar has turned brown it’s ready to pupate)
Caterpillar host plant list
Thank you so much for this page! We found an Eastern swallowtail on a new tulip tree we planted this year and didn’t want the tree to die so we took the little guy in. Found a guy down the road willing to give us leaves from his tree. The caterpillar (Clarence) has now turned brown, pitched his cookies and has hunkered down in a leaf. We can tell he has at least started to transform himself but he is wrapped in a leaf so we can’t see what’s happening. Once he puked we thought we should take everything out of the cage except a stick or two but didn’t get the time. Is there any way to get him out of the leaf? This is our first time and we would love to have a good view! Thank you again for all the info. If we didn’t have this page we would have no idea what to do to keep him safe and sound!
Hi Missy, I wouldn’t try to do anything about moving the chrysalis until it’s formed and hardened…then you can rehang it. I have not done this with swallowtails with before, but many use glue.
You can also just put them on the cage floor:
https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/help-swallowtail-caterpillars-chrysalis/
Thank you so much!
I found an eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillar today. It’s brown, but is still pretty active…is there anything I should be feeding it or doing with it’s box I put it in, or should it be forming a chrysalis soon?
Hi Kalie, once they turn brown they’ll be looking for a place to form their chrysalis.
How long does it take for it to create a crysallis after it turns brown? Our caterpillar is attached to a stick with the button and little silk sling but I’m worried it’s dead. It turned brown a couple of days ago but so far no action since. It even looks shrunken and it’s legs aren’t touching the stick. Is it possible it’s dead or does it just take a few days to form it’s crysallis?
Hi Jaclyn, they are pretty slow compared to monarchs and can take a couple days to form the chrysalis. I’ve never had one die while pupating, but I guess it’s possible. I would still give it a little more time. good luck!
Thank you! I’ll keep being patient and hope to see it transform into the chrysalis soon.
Jaclyn, did it form its chrysalis?
How late in the season will make the swallowtails overwinter? Our swallowtail just formed its chrysalis a few days ago, early August, and we’re hoping to see it emerge before the summer is out, but now I’m worried we might not see it again until next spring.
Hi Justice, last year in Minnesota our last swallowtail emerged on September 1 so yours should probably emerge in August. They are unpredictable though…good luck!
Hi again,
Our eggs hatched, but now I am unsure if they are swallowtail cats or not. Are there other butterflies you know of that lay their eggs on apple tree leaves at the very tip of the leaf? I am concerned because the first hatchling is wandering around the apple leaves we provided and not eating….help?
Thanks, Amy Jo
Hi Amy Jo, if they don’t look like the caterpillars in my article, try posting a photo of them here:
Insect Identification Group
Hi! I’m so glad we read your article on tiger swallowtail last year, as today we watched as a dark colored female laid her brood on our apple tree. My husband collected two eggs, so we are excited to have helpful advice and photos from your website. I am pining for the monarchs, so this is a wonderful distraction. We have raised only one monarch this year, a male, released July 13th, 2016. Still hoping and looking for monarchs to visit our multiple milkweed , both common ando tropical. Thanks for your great site!-Amy Jo
Hi Amy, tropical mw is typically the best species for getting late season activity, so hopefully August will be good to you.
I did not remember that tigers use some apple trees as host plants…congrats and good luck raising them!
Hi Tony,
I have had a butterfly garden for a while, and have found and raised many black and pipevine swallowtails. However, the single most common butterfly in my yard is the Tiger swallowtail and it is also my favorite. It has multiple host plants. What I want to know is which ones work best it pot? Even if I had space to plant a large tree, I would never find the eggs once it go big anyway. Which of your potted host plants gets the most Tiger swallowtail eggs?
Thank you, Robin
Hi Robin, we planted a black cherry tree in a container. The hop tree and the wafer ash are both small, slow growing trees so we direct planted those. We have gotten eggs on both “cherry” varieties, but not on the hop tree yet. You might research those to see how they grow in your region:
Host Plants for Butterflies
Is the eastern tiger swallowtail toxic to cats? Kitty may have ingested one.
Hi Carolyn, I don’t think so, but I would call your vet to discuss any potential concerns…other swallowtail species (like pipevine swallowtails) may be more of an issue because of the toxins in their host plants. Again, I would ask your vet to be sure.
I really like your pics of the caterpillars
Thanks Samantha…it was interesting to see them go through so many changes!
Hi – I also appreciate your photos and words of advice and explanation. About a month ago when I was out in my yard I saw a dark phase tiger swallowtail lighting on a ‘volunteer’ wild cherry tree leaf. I went over to examine the leaf and found what I thought might be an egg. The caterpillar is now about an inch long. It’s been great fun to watch how slowly it grows compared to the monarchs (which I have ‘raised’ for 35+ years).
Again, thank you for sharing your experience. It’s very helpful and fun.
Patti Rogness
congrats Patti, I’m glad the info here has helped…enjoy your tiger experience!
My mother firmly believes that citrus will attract more roaches than we already have, but a lot of host plants listed on other sites or in nurseries for swallowtails are citrus plants. While I wouldn’t be able to raise caterpillars of any sort inside (the family finds them creepy when they get big), I would like to be able to support them outside with host plants. I have seen Eastern Tiger Swallowtails outside twice this year so far–are there any host plants that are not citrus that I could possible plant for them? Thank you!
Hi Anissa, check out this list, which lists all the reported host plants for various butterflies:
Host Plants for Butterflies
I am so grateful for this invaluable information and the captivating photographs! I started raising Monarchs only last year. This year, should I find the caterpillars of other butterfly species, I will feel confident enough to raise them thanks to you! Your Monarch e-book was a worthwhile purchase. I know I had reviewed it online and gave it the accolades it deserved. This post on raising swallowtails deserves five stars as well. Thank you, Tony!
Thank you for your kind words Gloria. I am glad you find these resources helpful…have a fantastic butterfly season!
Hi, I actually found one the other day and I noticed it’s left wing was a little crumpled. I am trying to raise it in my sun room, so it’s wings improve. Do you have any tips for me? Also, I want to create a butterfly garden. What plants will attract butterflies? I would love to have more butterflies around my house. A few years ago, we demolished part of our garage and hundreds of monarch butterflies flew out of that area. I would enjoy seeing something similar to that again.
Hi Alex, sometimes you can cut the wings so that they are symmetrical if a small piece is missing. If the wings are more damaged, you can keep it as a pet and feed it fruit or sugar water.
If you want to start a butterfly garden check out this post
Is it OK to keep different species of caterpillars in the same butterfly castle? I’ve raised Monarchs the last 2 years, but this year I planted host plants for other butterflies, such as Dutchman’s Pipe, Dill and Fennel. I saw a Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillar hanging out on the trellis above the Dutchman’s Pipevine last week, and I found 2 Black Swallowtail caterpillars on the Dill a couple weeks ago. All have disappeared now. I hope they have made cocoons somewhere, but was thinking I should have put them in a butterfly castle for protection. I have 2 castles that I’m juggling between the different stages of Monarch’s and was wondering if it would have been OK to put the Swallowtails in with them, with their respective host plants? I kind of hate to keep buying castles for each species (and I’m running out of room).
Hi Bett, I have had monarchs and BST’s in the same enclosure before without issue, but only done this a couple times so not sure if there are potential issues. Since we raising on elevated cuttings, they typically stay where they are put:
Caterpillars on Cuttings
We live in McLean, VA. On Feb 1, an Eastern Swallowtail hatched in our house. We have found some advice on line, but would appreciate your wisdom and experience about what to do with it. At the moment, is in a screened box with ivy vines and has a damp sponge with honey and maple syrup.
Hi Paul, there’s not a lot you can do besides keep it inside an enclosure where it can hang from the roof and feed it. There’s some info in this monarch post about what you can feed them:
Feeding Adult Butterflies
For Future reference overwintering swallowtail chrysalides, check out this post
Sorry I can’t be more help, but I haven’t overwintered “butterflies” before…good luck!
We live in Toronto Canada and we just found a full grown yellow tail hanging from our livingroom curtains this evening. It is December. What on earth can we do to look after it or is it simply going to die? One of our cats will eat it if she sees it.
It is truly lovely and such a sight in December.
Hi Elizabeth, you could always reach out to a local university with an entomology dept and see if they might like to study it. If you keep it yourself, you could feed it sugar water or fruit, much the same as you would for an adult monarch. Normally, swallowtails overwinter as chrysalides in cold climates and eclose in spring. Here’s some info about feeding adult butterflies:
Feeding Adult Butterflies
Thank you so much. Do you think it should be cool or warm? Part of our home is very cool and part is very warm (wood stove) the beauty could live anywhere along that spectrum. I have given it some ripe fruit and fruit juice/water but I don’t think it has taken anything in.
I will read your link.
Hi Elizabeth, butterflies typically prefer warmer temps in the 70’s. Sometimes, it takes them a few days before they will eat . I have never kept swallowtails long enough to have to feed them, so not sure if their preferences differ from monarchs. Good luck!
What do I do now?
A caterpillar showed up on my patio table about a week ago. I’ve watched it (even through some really cold nights) and have started thinking of it as my new pet. I gave it a couple of leaves from my yard and I think it’s doing ok. Thanks for your article because I thought my brown cat and the yucky brown ooze on the table meant sickness. It’s now on a potting dish and I don’t know if it needs anything. Especially if this stage goes through the northern Virginia winter.
Any advice for cover and care?
Hi Amy, how exciting! It will probably pupate on the potting dish or somewhere nearby…it needs to be in a place where it will feel the winter temps. If it’s indoors the butterfly will hatch during the winter. All I will do to care for ours is spray them with water once a month (when it’s not too cold) so they won’t dry out since they’re in our porch.
We just found an Eastern Swallowtail caterpillar and would like to keep it until it forms a chrysalis and then a butterfly. We raised Monarchs from eggs to butterflies this summer. The problem we may have is that we live in Minnesota. If the it doesn’t come out of the chrysalis in a few weeks, does that mean for sure it will stay all winter. Where would we keep it in our home? Would it be too warm and hatch early in our home? We would like to keep it all winter but I don’t want a butterfly in January!
Hi Kimberly, I live in Minnesota too 🙂 Our 4 tiger chrysalides are inside a mesh cage hanging in our 3-season porch where it stays cold all winter. Yes, they will hatch in January if you keep them indoors. All I will do to care for them spray the chrysalises with water about once a month (when it’s not too cold) so they don’t dry out. Hopefully, they’ll all emerge next May…good luck with yours!
Hi Joy, it’s getting late in the season, but it never hurts to try raising them indoors because at least you will give them a chance. I had a swallowtail male eclose in Minnesota last week, but my guess is the other four will overwinter in our porch…welcome to our raising community!
First year for me to be raising monarchs and it’s been so enjoyable and educational for me!! Still finding monarch cats and still wanting to bring them in although I know it’s getting late to do this? Had a friend that gave me a swallowtail cat but I’m pretty sure at this late date that it will winter over. Bought a little plastic box with a vented lid at a pet store that he will have all to himself. Would really like more of these swallowtails next year and do some plantings for them. What an enjoyable hobby!!
Hello and thank you for the photo journey!
Wwe live in central Pennsylvania and yesterday while doing some landscaping work in our side yard, a beautiful yellow swallowtail began lighting on leaves of several trees. She wasn’t shy and we could have reached up and touched her! This is the first one I’ve seen all summer. I saw that she was laying eggs and my 7 year old daughter is ecstatic to try and raise a few as you have done. However, I am not sure what to feed them. Our yard does not have many of the right plants as far as I can tell. If we are able to foster some I will plant for them in the spring. She laid on a Trifoliate Orange shrub (I’ve never seen this plant anywhere but in our yard – planted by the previous owner) and on a Japanese Cherry tree. Will the cats eat these? Should I just bring in some of each? Or should I find other food to put in the caterpillar house?
Also, since we are well in to September and we will begin having cool fronts any moment, it sounds like maybe they will spend the winter indoors as chrysalis? Any advice you can give will be much appreciated!
Thank you, Rebecca
Hi Rebecca and congrats on your find!
eastern swallowtails have a much wider taste palate than monarchs. We found eggs on our Black cherry Tree and also have a Ptelea trifoliata planted for them based on reports from other gardeners. My guess is they will eat leaves from both of your plants…the females are pretty good about laying eggs on the right host plants!
I fed ours using stem and leaf cuttings, which kept the leaves fresh. Our last one is just about to pupate inside their small mesh cage. I am hanging the cage in our 3-season porch and hopefully they will emerge next spring…I did this with black swallowtails before and it worked well.
Check this page out to see leaf and stem cutting photos:
Top Raising tools and resources
Thank you for such a quick response! We just brought in three eggs on their leaves/stems and placed them in the containers as suggested. So many questions!
We have a small butterfly house from raising painted ladies a couple of years ago that we got online. Will that work? It looks smaller than the one suggested.
How long is the cat stage before they pupate?
We don’t have a screened in porch but I do have a covered porch. Should we keep their house inside our home or hang them on the porch protected from rain/snow?
How often to feed and spritz? We are so excited! I’ll post pictures if they hatch.
Thank you again!
Hi Rebecca, they take about twice as long as monarchs to go through metamorphosis. You can raise them inside or the porch, but keep them in the cold porch over winter so they don’t hatch.
I raise ours in a small side opening mesh cage like I raise monarch in and they pupated in the corners of the cage. I will probably spray once a month when it’s not bitter cold. Again, this is my first year raising them, so learning as I go. All 5 of our late summer batch successfully made it to chrysalis and one male eclosed a few days ago. I don’t think any more will hatch this season…
Hi Tony,
This is great! I have a tiger swallowtail chrysalis right now but it’s been over 3 weeks. The chrysalis seems very dry. Is there anything I should be doing to protect the chrysalis? BTW I live in Toronto Canada and I’m wondering if it will overwinter.
Hi Lori, I misted two of the chrysalides with water a couple times, but not sure it was even necessary. It’s probably more important to give them a little moisture if they are overwintering. I would think there is a good chance your tiger will hatch this summer, but it seems most swallowtail species thrive on being unpredictable…good luck!
I wonder whether one of your female swallowtails might have traveled north to the Minnehaha Creek area. On July 21, 2015, I photographed a very tattered black female at Robbins Street and Penn Avenue. She was nectaring on Asclepias syriaca and Anise Hyssop in a streetside garden. Photos at https://www.flickr.com/photos/velomobiling/sets/72157656189933105
thanks for sharing your beautiful photo Mary…One of mine came back for some Anise hyssop too. We are having a banner year for tigers this season. If you look up, they are always floating from tree to tree (when not in the garden)
This is my first year trying to attract Monarchs. My daughter sent me some of her milkweed seeds from Wisconsin. We live in SW Missouri. I planted some seeds and overwintered them in the garden and got 13 plants that made it. I noticed within the last couple of weeks that there was one (sometimes two) Monarchs visiting our butterfly garden. Lo and behold, today I went out to check on the garden and found three caterpillars and maybe another egg also. I’ve never ever seen the Monarchs land on the milkweed! I’m sure there is more that I am missing, but right now I feel like a new mom that just had triplets!!!! Hopefully I can add on and enlarge the beds more next year. Thanks again for all the information – even though sometimes it can be mind boggling!
first year success…fantastic Kris!
I have been trying to raise swallowtails; my sister who lives in ORLANDO area is quite successful w/o trying. I live in the south end of MIAMI, I have grown: parsley, carrot & fennel with no luck. What is Mexican sunflower? Will regular sunflower work?
Hi Sheila, the swallowtails you are trying to attract are eastern black swallowtails. Your host plant selection sounds good. They also like common rue. More rue info on my host plants page:
https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/butterfly-plants/#HOBP
Mexican sunflowers attract far more butterflies than regular sunflower. They also bloom continuously with deadheading:
Mexican Sunflower info
Thanks for your help,Tony. I have 2 other issue so: aphids & lantana spot.
Regards the aphids, my research says ladybugs; another site said don’t buy wild harvested as the beetles may have diseases. What do you think.
Lantana spot: research says, don’t sprinkle from the top, don’t over water, good drainage & cut off affected leaves. Is there another eco friendly solution?
Great photo journey, Tony! Thanks!
Thanks for sharing the pics! (I enjoy your humor, too!) I am starting my first venture in saving the Monarch and your site really inspiring. I’ll be planting milkweed seeds in the fall Right now, I’m starting to prep the site. 🙂 Is it better to keep the host plants separate? As in a pure milkweed stand? Or can other butterfly loving plants be inter-planted? Thanks for the time you put in to helping others.
Hi Linda, I’m glad you are enjoying the site. Some nectar flowers can be mixed in with milkweed, but it depends on the particular plants. One annual plant that we mix in all over the garden, is verbena bonariensis, which is a tall see-through plant that monarchs adore. More info here:
Verbena bonariensis
I read what you said about not seeing any honeybees, why aren’t you raising them as well? A beehive would surely be an asset to your lovely gardens! I’ve seen some, but not too many, here in southern Ontario. They have been visiting my clover patch. It’s very disturbing to not see them, a very important part of our ecosystem. It would be a shame to have them disappear altogether!
Thank you so much for your gorgeous pictures and all the wonderful information! This is my favorite butterfly and I would love to raise them. Our yard has quite a few of their host plants, but I have never been able to find cats or eggs. I will keep looking and in the meantime live vicariously through your pictures. 🙂
Hi Elaine, it was exciting to raise tigers for the first time and I’m happy to hear you enjoyed all the pictures and info. I hope you will get to raise some soon!