Have been hoping to watch the metamorphosis of caterpillar to butterfly for some time, particularly so my 4 year old son can observe. Looked online, and the cooler caterpillars (monarch, lunar moth) are upwards of $25 a piece. Expensive! But today, we lucked out and found 2 Swallowtail Caterpillars on my parsley plant (note to self, just plant parsley if you live in Alabama and want to try this project).
They're so pretty (at all stages) & can't wait to watch the process.
More info: http://texasbutterflyranch.com/2014/07/01/how-to-raise-eastern-swallowtail-butterflies-at-home/
They're so pretty (at all stages) & can't wait to watch the process.
More info: http://texasbutterflyranch.com/2014/07/01/how-to-raise-eastern-swallowtail-butterflies-at-home/
This is what they look like now (still pretty small)
They should get a lot bigger (They eat a lot apparently)
Then into a chrysalis that looks like this
The female eastern black swallowtail butterfly. Sooo pretty
Comparison At Different Stages of Development (we got ours as a 3rd instar)
Male (bottom left) vs Female (top right) Swallowtail Butterfly
If you gently touch them, these slimy antennae shoot out for a couple of seconds and you can smell something funny (defense mechanism)
All settled into their new cage with a couple of parsley plants (one mostly eaten already), and a damp sponge
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| Their names are Renato and Figaro (thinking Italian food critique since they're busy getting picky about their Italian parsley) |
