Help Pre-Chrysalis Crazy Swallowtail Caterpillars!? 🐛😱

40 Comments

1. I have 5 swallowtail caterpillars in my above ground garden they’ve been enjoying my dill plant. Just recently They have wandered to my parsley and basil. The largest one fell out of the box, or that’s what we thought. After putting it back on the plant, several minutes later it was out on the ground again and climbing up,our house bricks. Not sure what to do about this. It certainly won’t survive. We have many birds. What is it doing? Why did it leave the safety and comfort of its home?

   1. hi Rose, most likely searching for a place to form its chrysalis…hopefully it went undetected. The chrysalides themselves usually blend in with the background.

2. I also forgot a question I have. I have one large swallowtail cat that has “freckles” or tiny black specks. It does not look like a bacteria, parasite, or fungus, and he is so far fine. They are not random either, seem to have a pattern to them, possibly he is just an unusual pattern? None of the other 14 cats he lives with have these specks. Have you experienced this before?

   1. Hi Alison, it’s probably just the natural markings of the swallowtail if there is a distinct pattern to it. Google the exact species and compare photos of the caterpillar to yours…

3. Thanks for this post!
   I experienced my first black swallowtail anxiety this morning. I had one purge yesterday, he was always the biggest so it was no issue determining which cat was ready. Then one overnight. But now I have about 6 the same size and it’s going to be a lot more difficult to determine who’s next since I am at work all day.
   I removed them both and followed the suggestions of placing a paper towel over half of a toilet paper tube and securing with a rubber band. Then I placed that into a more sturdy plastic cup for balance. The first guy is doing well, taking a long time but getting there. I moved another this morning after seeing him slow down last night and found his purge this morning.
   I specifically wanted to expand my monarch-raising skills and went to Walmart to purchase a parsley plant in hopes of attracting some egg-laying females in my yard. To my pleasure, the plant came with 15 small cats already on it. Now I am running out of plant to feed them, since they are ravenous! I found some organic Italian parsley but I’m not 100% loving it. It’s not as dense as the curled and doesn’t last them long. I had a very hard time finding organic parsley where I live.

   Wish me luck! This is my first round of swallowtails.

4. Hi Tony, I have 2 tiger swallowtail chrisalides that formed in May of this year. IT is now July 27 and they are still not emerging, they are in my greenhouse that has only the West side covered. I’m in s.e. Texas and it’s crazy hot here. I’ve raised these and Monarchs before and had them winter over but only one emerged about a week after I moved them from the orange tree to the screen cage. I guess my question is do early spring chrisalides also winter over? I entered your contest to raise the migration, I’m so happy to have your blog it has taught me a lot! Thank you, Robbie from Conroe Tx.

   1. Hi Robbie, it’s my understanding they can be very unpredictable, and even take more than one season to emerge. In the spring (after it’s warm enough for release) we spritz the chrysalides with water every few days which coaxes them to eclose pretty quickly, at least in Minnesota.

5. While searching for monarch eggs on my milkweed I found round dark colored eggs, laid singly on the undersides of the leaves. I believe they are swallowtails. I’ve never raised swallowtails, will they eat milkweed? If not what are the easiest foods to provide for them, and I guess it depends if they are black or tigers. The eggs are black and going to hatch. Please help! I want to make sure they have food. Also, I just ordered an enclosure to raise the monarchs in, I’ve had a lot of success with them, but new to swallowtails, can they be raised in a large enclosure together? Thanks for any advise…much appreciated!

   1. Hi Cheryl, swallowtails don’t lay eggs on milkweed. I would take a photo and post it here:

      Insect Identification Group

      1. So not ten minutes after I read your reply a black Tiger Swallowtail layed eggs all over my roomates parsley plants! Will have some after all 🙂
         Thanks for your reply, still no idea what these other eggs are

6. Need new host plant for giant swallowtail Cats. Currently on lemon tree. Would grapefruit tree work
   Central Florida

   1. Hi Linda, they’re supposed to use a variety of hosts from the citrus family. I have never heard of anyone using grapefruit specifically so not sure if it’s a viable host OR if it’s a commonly used host. Hopefully someone will chime in with their experience…More info on giant swallowtails here

7. Hi Tony.
   I’m raising a swallowtail caterpillar as well. But she managed to crawl out of my container placed on the desk, and I found her laying on the floor with her orange horns out, not moving. I put it back in the container and i noticed it’s not stiff at all. Should i still have hope that its alive?

   1. Hi Ewelina, you can put the caterpillar in a container with host plant, but if the osmeterium won’t retract, it probably won’t survive. good luck!

8. Dear Tony,

   Your website has been so helpful in raising monarchs here is St. Louis that we have now ventured into black swallowtails: we found 4 on our fennel this morning and have brought them inside. Along with them are 2 very small Giant Swallowtail cats and we have brought them inside also! Given the information in your guide to raising them, I was surprised to find them on the fennel. We don’t have any of the other host plants in our yard and, given that we are in a suburb, not much yard to put in additional trees. What would you advise? I can certainly put in rue and more fennel. Should I buy trees in pots and use those for cuttings? I do have space to put some large pots on my deck and patio.

   Monarch season has been slow to get started, but we released our first butterfly today. Looking forward to many more!

   Pam

   1. Hi Pam, fennel is a favorite for black swallowtails. We quit growing it because it attracted too many wasps. They also lay eggs on curly parsley, dill, carrots. Prickly ash has been the favorite host for giant swallowtails. Rue can host both.

9. Thank you for responding. You have set my mind at ease and it will be exciting to see what happens. I’m glad I found your blog. We’re working on some garden areas and want to make them butterfly friendly but really didn’t know where to begin. It looks like I have a lot of reading to do 🙂

10. Tony… you have cages?????… i have 50 instars.. and needs cages… how do i order them from you??? thanks sue dillon

    1. Hi Susan, check out our raising supplies here:

       Butterfly Cages and Raising Accessories

11. Hello. I’m hoping you can help me. I know absolutely nothing about caterpillars but I found your page while looking for information on one that is stuck on the outside of our garage. From pictures on the internet, it appears to be a Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar. We noticed it yesterday and it was a bright green. It’s still there today, but now it has turned more of a dark orange color. I thought it might be better to move it to one of our sassafras trees, but when I touch it, even though it wiggles its head, it’s feet seem to be stuck and it looks like there are a few white strands around its body attached to the wall. I’m worried about injuring it. Is it okay to let it stay and possibly cocoon (?) right on the wall, or should I try to force it off and move it? Any advice would really be appreciated. Thank you.

    1. Hi Kim, it sounds like the caterpillar is forming a chrysalis. I would leave it.

12. Hi! I moved 4 black swallowtail caterpillars inside, safe away from the birds and kept them in a mason jar while I was setting up their temporary home of branches of food. 3 caterpillars had no issues moving to their new home, but one had already laid threads down. I’m sad to say I didn’t research enough ahead of time and moved him from the jar, breaking his threads. Do you have any knowledge as to what happens when this occurs? Is he going to survive and be okay? He has transitioned into his pre-pupa stage but I’m afraid I’ve injured him.

    1. Hi Colton, all you can do at this point is see if the caterpillar can form a chrysalis on the cage floor. If you ever come across a caterpillar like this again, just take a stem cutting (with the caterpillar attached) and put it in a floral tube so the cutting doesn’t dry out…

13. Hello Tony,

    Thank you for your response!

    I followed your advice and indeed — the swallowtail caterpillar finally decided to form a chrysalis. It certainly took more than a day but I’m grateful that I left it alone. Thank you again! Ninety-five percent of what I’ve learned about butterfly caterpillars has come from you, your book and your blog.

14. Hello Tony,

    I just ordered three of your cages. I can’t imagine doing this another year without them!
    I have a black swallowtail pre-chrysalis question. The caterpillar I picked up yesterday from a friend’s fennel plant had its big ‘disposal’ and settled on a corner of the 24″ cube where there is mesh on all sides (not the PVC side). I am worried because nothing has changed. He or she is just in that right-side-up ‘J’ position but it has almost been 24 hours and no chrysalis is forming. Is my caterpillar dead due to being parasitized? It was eating so much in the hours before and after spending a few hours wandering away from the fennel cuttings in the cube, it founds its place but there are no changes. I already had an overwintering spicebush swallowtail killed by a wretched parasitoid wasp that emerged after months of care this past March. I am worried about this one. Can you share your knowledge of what this might mean with the delayed formation of a chrysalis in this black swallowtail caterpillar? Thank you.

    1. Hi Gloria, it often takes them a while to start forming their chrysalides. Unless there is something visibly wrong with the caterpillar, I would leave it alone and see what happens…good luck!

15. Hi Tony, my daughter moved from her old house where she had many healthy milkweed plants growing to her new house where she has none. She just went back to old house and pulled out some plants from ground as new owners are friends and they were going to cut them down. Anyway to transplant? How do you get roots again? Also how long do cuttings stay fresh in just water? Thank you for all your help!!!

    1. Hi Linda, check out this post about transplanting…it’s more difficult this time of season, but can be done:

       Transplanting Milkweed

16. Oops, I commented in the wrong section. But I still need help!

17. Hi Tony!
    I live in Canton, OH.We just had our first butterfly of the season emerge yesterday, a lovely female giant swallowtail. She overwintered on a rue cutting that we kept in the garage. I hope we’ll get more swallowtails this summer. Our milkweed is ready to go as well, so bring on the monarchs! Thanks so much for the great info you provide for us butterfly lovers.

18. Hi Tony. You mentioned in your newsletter that you have a swallowtail chrysalis that seems harder than the rest. Well, I had an Eastern Black Swallowtail chrysalis that overwintered 2 seasons … he first enclosed in September 2016 in NJ, moved with me to NC, and *just* emerged (though unsuccessfully).

    His chrysalis was hard to the touch during the final year (I didn’t try to bend it, as it looked brittle), and it stopped responding to water drops after the first winter. Last week, we found him deceased on the ground of the netted cage after he had emerged. His wings seemed crumbled. We check on the chrysalises every day, so we wonder if he had a developmental issue, disease, or fell on his back and we didn’t see him in time to help.

    Figured I’d share, as it’s still a possibility that your “different” swallowtail chrysalis will make it, though mine isn’t exactly a happy ending.

    I LOVE your resources and share them often. Thank you for helping us enjoy and conserve butterflies!

    1. Hi Renee, thanks for sharing your experience. I’ll hold on to the chrysalis for a bit and see what happens…

19. Hi Tony,
    I live in Florida and have noticed Monarchs around my Pentas and milkweed all year. Last year I bought two cages and my young granddaughters helped gather 20 milkweed leaves with a tiny caterpillar on them. All survived and they released 20 beautiful monarchs into the yard. Wonderful experience for them. My milkweed is currently growing prolifically. I see lots of butterflies, but no eggs or cats. I don’t know if a predator is getting to them or what is happening. I have seen a single wasp lurking and I’m not sure where it’s nest is and I don’t want to spray the milkweed with insecticides. Do you have any ideas? Thanks!

    1. Hi Debby, monarch activity is unpredictable in Florida, but you have the opportunity to see them most of the year. When you’re not seeing eggs and caterpillars is a good time to focus on improving the garden. I wouldn’t worry about wasps unless you find a nest on your property. (I would remove it if possible) Good luck!

       Wasps in the butterfly garden

20. Hi Cliff, the best thing you can do when you’re not seeing butterflies is continue to improve your garden…it will eventually pay off in butterflies!

21. Hi Chris
    Have patience. Sooner or later when they discover your paradise they will come and future generations will come.
    I think you are doing the right things.

22. Hi Tony, I moved to Tucson, AZ as few years ago and soon noticed Giant Swallowtails laying eggs on a small citrus tree. At first I just observed the whole process, but after seeing how many predators were feeding on both cats and chrysalides, I got a mesh cage, and last year added another. So far I’ve only worked with the overwintering ones, using the garage to keep them safe. At first it was difficult to find reasonable information online, and I was pleased to find that your website included some suggestions for Swallowtails as well as Monarchs. I’ve tried all the methods suggested on your website for moving chrysalides, going from working the silk around a pin and pinning to a mesh wall, glue to attach at bottom to a twig or piece of wood, to little weighted plastic cups with the chrysalis on a cotton round. Also tried various pieces of light cardboard, as the cats often chose the zipper to go to chrysalis. Turns out the latest and simplest, easiest method, lining the cage with paper towels and lining up the chrysalides facing the base of a net wall of the cage works just fine. Thank you for sharing all the information and tips.

23. Hi Tony i,live in Houston my question is do monarchs reproduse all summer? When should i see monarchrs in my garden? Had a few caterpillars about a month ago but havent seen any new butterflies i have lots of milkweed plants. Also what other butterflies are easy to attract here in texas? Thanks.

24. Hello Tony
    Well I must be doing something wrong, I have given up on Monarchs 🙂 I can’t even get a Swallow Tail to come my way, they both were here about two weeks ago but now nothing.
    I have got Parsnips,Parsley, Flat leaf and Curly leaf,Fennel,Dill,Spice Bush,Hackberry,Wild Cherry Tree,Queen Ann’s lace ,Carrots, still no Swallow Tails. :):)
    I set out 27 new Milk Weed plants plus the ones I had last year. I have dug up my whole yard :):) and am in the process of moving to the front yard.
    My neighbors think that I need a “Shrink”

    Regards
    Cliff

25. I have 3 of them that are in chrysalis now just waiting. I put sticks for them to pupate on and one pupated on the container, so I will have to move him. The other 2 pupated very close to each other on a parsley stalk.

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