Black Swallowtail Butterflies!

(June 19–26, 2006)

My friend/neighbor Gretchen went on vacation and left me with fifteen Black Swallowtail butterflies (Papilio polyxenes) in chrysalis, due to emerge within a few days. Gretchen collects and grows butterfly eggs and caterpillars, feeds them until they go into chrysalis, then releases the adult butterflies in her garden. She has done lots of Monarchs, but I think this is her first time with Black Swallowtails. It's certainly MY first time! I've been doing a LOT of reading on the internet to try to keep up!

Twelve of the fifteen chrysalides produced butterflies — three girls and nine boys.

Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) chrysalides at various stages of development. Four is getting ready to emerge near the top, and Two or Three's empty chrysalis is between the two green ones. [June 19, 2006 - 10:54 a.m.]

Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) chrysalides at various stages of development. Four is getting ready to emerge near the top, and Two or Three's empty chrysalis is between the two green ones. [June 19, 2006 - 10:54 a.m.]

 

Two stretches his wings before being released. [June 19, 2006 - 10:31 a.m.]

Two stretches his wings before being released. [June 19, 2006 - 10:31 a.m.]

 

Two tries out his climbing technique on Olivia's Geranium on my front steps. [June 19, 2006 - 10:35 a.m.]

Two tries out his climbing technique on Olivia's Geranium on my front steps. [June 19, 2006 - 10:35 a.m.]

 

Three and Two rest upside-down on the chrysalis rack. [June 19, 2006 - 10:38 a.m.]

Three and Two rest upside-down on the chrysalis rack. [June 19, 2006 - 10:38 a.m.]

 

Three gathers his strength for freedom. [June 19, 2006 - 10:40 a.m.]

Three gathers his strength for freedom. [June 19, 2006 - 10:40 a.m.]

 

One and Three probe the blanketflowers in Gretchen's back yard. [June 19, 2006 - 10:46 a.m.]

One and Three probe the blanketflowers in Gretchen's back yard. [June 19, 2006 - 10:46 a.m.]

 

Three poses on a blanketflower. [June 19, 2006 - 10:50 a.m.]

Three poses on a blanketflower. [June 19, 2006 - 10:50 a.m.]

 

Chrysalides at different stages. The one on the bottom may be dead, but we'll see. The black and white thing at the bottom of the green one is the dried skin that the caterpillar shed as it was going into chrysalis. [June 19, 2006 - 11:03 a.m.]

Chrysalides at different stages. The one on the bottom may be dead, but we'll see. The black and white thing at the bottom of the green one is the dried skin that the caterpillar shed as it was going into chrysalis. [June 19, 2006 - 11:03 a.m.]

 

A butterfly will emerge from the green chrysalis in a few days. The abandoned brown chrysalis was Two or Three's home a few hours ago. [June 19, 2006 - 11:03 a.m.]

A butterfly will emerge from the green chrysalis in a few days. The abandoned brown chrysalis was Two or Three's home a few hours ago. [June 19, 2006 - 11:03 a.m.]

 

I turned my back for less than 10 minutes to take some pictures of my garden, and I came back to find that Four (male) had emerged! [June 19, 2006 - 11:31 a.m.]

I turned my back for less than 10 minutes to take some pictures of my garden, and I came back to find that Four (male) had emerged! [June 19, 2006 - 11:31 a.m.]

 

June 20 was a great day, with four healthy butterflies (all males) emerging: Five, Six, Seven, and Eight. Here's Five. [June 20, 2006 - 4:10 p.m.]

June 20 was a great day, with four healthy butterflies (all males) emerging: Five, Six, Seven, and Eight. Here's Five. [June 20, 2006 - 4:10 p.m.]

 

Seven. [June 20, 2006 - 4:11 p.m.]

Seven. [June 20, 2006 - 4:11 p.m.]

 

Eight. [June 20, 2006 - 5:14 p.m.]

Eight. [June 20, 2006 - 5:14 p.m.]

 

Eight. [June 20, 2006 - 5:21 p.m.]

Eight. [June 20, 2006 - 5:21 p.m.]

 

It's a girl! After a string of eight boys, Nine and Ten emerged on June 22 as females. And Eleven, another girl, emerged three days later. Click here to read about how you can tell males and females apart. Nine and Ten flew away too quickly to get photos, but here is Eleven. [June 25, 2006 - 5:24 p.m.]

It's a girl! After a string of eight boys, Nine and Ten emerged on June 22 as females. And Eleven, another girl, emerged three days later. Click here to read about how you can tell males and females apart. Nine and Ten flew away too quickly to get photos, but here is Eleven. [June 25, 2006 - 5:24 p.m.]

 

Eleven. [June 25, 2006 - 5:26 p.m.]

Eleven. [June 25, 2006 - 5:26 p.m.]

 

Eleven. [June 25, 2006 - 5:26 p.m.]

Eleven. [June 25, 2006 - 5:26 p.m.]

This guy (One) was the first Black Swallowtail to emerge on June 18. Unfortunately, he had a shriveled wing that never expanded. I kept him overnight and released him the next morning with Two and Three. [June 19, 2006 - 10:28 a.m.]

This guy (One) was the first Black Swallowtail to emerge on June 18. Unfortunately, he had a shriveled wing that never expanded. I kept him overnight and released him the next morning with Two and Three. [June 19, 2006 - 10:28 a.m.]

 

Two (male) on Olivia's Geranium on my front steps. [June 19, 2006 - 10:33 a.m.]

Two (male) on Olivia's Geranium on my front steps. [June 19, 2006 - 10:33 a.m.]

 

Another shot of Two resting after emerging from his chrysalis. [June 19, 2006 - 10:30 a.m.]

Another shot of Two resting after emerging from his chrysalis. [June 19, 2006 - 10:30 a.m.]

 

Three (male) rests near a chrysalis. [June 19, 2006 - 10:39 a.m.]

Three (male) rests near a chrysalis. [June 19, 2006 - 10:39 a.m.]

 

Two, One, and Three get used to the big outdoors on the blanketflowers and juniper in Gretchen's back yard. [June 19, 2006 - 10:47 a.m.]

Two, One, and Three get used to the big outdoors on the blanketflowers and juniper in Gretchen's back yard. [June 19, 2006 - 10:47 a.m.]

 

Two hangs out on Gretchen's juniper before taking off. [June 19, 2006 - 10:47 a.m.]

Two hangs out on Gretchen's juniper before taking off. [June 19, 2006 - 10:47 a.m.]

 

Because he couldn't fly and had poor balance, One was quickly (and hopefully humanely) picked off by a bird less than 1/2 hour after release, but not before he got to drink some nectar from one of Gretchen's blanketflowers. [June 19, 2006 - 10:49 a.m.]

Because he couldn't fly and had poor balance, One was quickly (and hopefully humanely) picked off by a bird less than 1/2 hour after release, but not before he got to drink some nectar from one of Gretchen's blanketflowers. [June 19, 2006 - 10:49 a.m.]

 

A green chrysalis. Black Swallowtail chrysalides can range from green to brown, depending on the conditions. [June 19, 2006 - 11:02 a.m.]

A green chrysalis. Black Swallowtail chrysalides can range from green to brown, depending on the conditions. [June 19, 2006 - 11:02 a.m.]

 

When a Black Swallowtail is getting ready to emerge, its chrysalis becomes very transparent. You can see the spots on Four's wings. Little did I know that he would be out within minutes! [June 19, 2006 - 10:54 a.m.]

When a Black Swallowtail is getting ready to emerge, its chrysalis becomes very transparent. You can see the spots on Four's wings. Little did I know that he would be out within minutes! [June 19, 2006 - 10:54 a.m.]

 

Four's wings started out wrinkled and weak, but they quickly expanded. In a few minutes, I brought him over to Gretchen's garden to rest upside-down in the safety of the shadows of the juniper near the blanketflowers before he took off. Two or Three was flying off toward some daisies across the yard. [June 19, 2006 - 11:34 a.m.]

Four's wings started out wrinkled and weak, but they quickly expanded. In a few minutes, I brought him over to Gretchen's garden to rest upside-down in the safety of the shadows of the juniper near the blanketflowers before he took off. Two or Three was flying off toward some daisies across the yard. [June 19, 2006 - 11:34 a.m.]

 

Six. [June 20, 2006 - 4:11 p.m.]

Six. [June 20, 2006 - 4:11 p.m.]

 

Seven. [June 20, 2006 - 4:13 p.m.]

Seven. [June 20, 2006 - 4:13 p.m.]

 

Eight. [June 20, 2006 - 5:15 p.m.]

Eight. [June 20, 2006 - 5:15 p.m.]

 

Eight. [June 20, 2006 - 5:20 p.m.]

Eight. [June 20, 2006 - 5:20 p.m.]

 

Eleven was extra special because her chrysalis had completed dislodged from the front panel of the box when I released Nine and Ten. It was lying on the bottom of the box for three days, but Eleven emerged without a problem. [June 25, 2006 - 5:25 p.m.]

Eleven was extra special because her chrysalis had completed dislodged from the front panel of the box when I released Nine and Ten. It was lying on the bottom of the box for three days, but Eleven emerged without a problem. [June 25, 2006 - 5:25 p.m.]

 

Eleven. [June 25, 2006 - 5:26 p.m.]

Eleven. [June 25, 2006 - 5:26 p.m.]

 

A final photo of Eleven. Twelve (male) emerged around 4:30 on the afternoon of June 26, but I didn't take any photos of him because I released him with my neighbor kids, Laura and Sam, and was busy telling them about what Black Swallowtail caterpillars eat. There was some dill close to the release site in Gretchen's garden, and Sam enjoyed picking little pieces and trying to decide if it smelled more like mint or pickles. Laura was interested in breaking apart the discarded chrysalides. Bon voyage, butterfly friends! [June 25, 2006 - 5:27 p.m.]

A final photo of Eleven. Twelve (male) emerged around 4:30 on the afternoon of June 26, but I didn't take any photos of him because I released him with my neighbor kids, Laura and Sam, and was busy telling them about what Black Swallowtail caterpillars eat. There was some dill close to the release site in Gretchen's garden, and Sam enjoyed picking little pieces and trying to decide if it smelled more like mint or pickles. Laura was interested in breaking apart the discarded chrysalides. Bon voyage, butterfly friends! [June 25, 2006 - 5:27 p.m.]

 

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