Hi gardening family! I’ve just started raising black swallowtail butterflies this year as I found a bunch of caterpillars in my fennel plant. After seeing their numbers deplete day after day I decided to bring the remaining three indoors. One has gone into chrysalis, the other two were happily gaining weight in bucket of fennel and parsley…until yesterday when I suddenly couldnt find the larger of the two caterpillars. I search high and low around the container, but can’t seem to find it (or the hopefully resulted chrysalis) anywhere!
My question for y’all is: do you know if there is a certain material, environment (or other sort of helpful tip) that I could look in to hopefully find the chrysalis? The first to go to pupae stage has attached itself to a flat wooden cutting board that I used to cover its container. I’ve looked on all the wood surrounding the other containers, but no avail. Thanks in advance to anyone who has any insight/take the time to respond!
Bonus: I believe it’s too late in the season for them to go thru chrysalis in 10 days like they usually do. I’ve read that I can place the pupae in a container and in the fridge for them to hibernate the winter but I’m scared of that accidentally killing them and want to make sure I don’t do it too early in their chrysalis stage. How long should they have been in cocoon before I can be safe the fridge won’t kill them? Thanks so much!
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applestar
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It’s a lot of fun to raise butterflies. We used to raise Monarchs and Black Swallowtails — did this for several years.
Now, in my experience, the Black Swallowtails tended to make chrysallis on vertical or near vertical surfaces as much as possible, leaning back but tethering on from the “shoulders” with a couple of strong threads, and securing/bonding the tail end of the chrysalis.
Generally they go as high as they can climb (or perceive they can) which explains the one hanging onto the “ceiling”
Monarch chrysalises MUST all eclose before full frost arrives so they can fly south, but Black Swallowtails do go into hibernation.
There was some speculation that the chrysalis that remains green will try to eclose this year or as soon as it feels warm enough, but the chrysalis that turn brown like dried grass will overwinter and will not eclose until spring.
I have generally kept the Black Swallowtail chrysalis in cool room rather than a refrigerator — 60’s down to 50’s during the winter months, and some were placed in mouse-proof cage/ventilated metal container in unheated uninsulated garage where temperatures gradually lowered to subfreezing — as low as low 20’s then increased in spring.
(I don’t know enough about the refrigerator hibernation technique, but generally speaking, excessive humidity or condensation is a big no no when raising them, and they do need to breathe)
The reason I mention the green ones is — before I opted for the garage placement — I have had them eclose in suddenly warm February, way before last frost in April. They didn’t wait making me wonder if they are still alive like the browned ones do. We were able to keep them alive for about a week on butterfly food (a bit like hummingbird food) but the timing was bad and they didn’t survive.
As for where to find your escapee— I have had escaped fugitive Monarch caterpillars make chrysalis in toilet paper tube under the paper towels (used to provide loft and air circulation) of their cage (no way it could have eclosed without hurting itself — I cut open the tube and pinned it to the side of their cage — somewhere in the cluttered corner of the room — came out without being found by the cats — up at the end of the curtain rod near the ceiling — and INSIDE the fan blade housing of an unused room fan — this one was not noticed until it had eclosed bright orange and black inside the fan — luckily the fan was never in use all that time.
Like Monarch chrysalis, it is possible to gently detach the Black Swallowtail chrysalis from where it has inconveniently placed itself and use substitute artificial tethers of thread affixed to a better suited position/location.
Now, in my experience, the Black Swallowtails tended to make chrysallis on vertical or near vertical surfaces as much as possible, leaning back but tethering on from the “shoulders” with a couple of strong threads, and securing/bonding the tail end of the chrysalis.
Generally they go as high as they can climb (or perceive they can) which explains the one hanging onto the “ceiling”
Monarch chrysalises MUST all eclose before full frost arrives so they can fly south, but Black Swallowtails do go into hibernation.
There was some speculation that the chrysalis that remains green will try to eclose this year or as soon as it feels warm enough, but the chrysalis that turn brown like dried grass will overwinter and will not eclose until spring.
I have generally kept the Black Swallowtail chrysalis in cool room rather than a refrigerator — 60’s down to 50’s during the winter months, and some were placed in mouse-proof cage/ventilated metal container in unheated uninsulated garage where temperatures gradually lowered to subfreezing — as low as low 20’s then increased in spring.
(I don’t know enough about the refrigerator hibernation technique, but generally speaking, excessive humidity or condensation is a big no no when raising them, and they do need to breathe)
The reason I mention the green ones is — before I opted for the garage placement — I have had them eclose in suddenly warm February, way before last frost in April. They didn’t wait making me wonder if they are still alive like the browned ones do. We were able to keep them alive for about a week on butterfly food (a bit like hummingbird food) but the timing was bad and they didn’t survive.
As for where to find your escapee— I have had escaped fugitive Monarch caterpillars make chrysalis in toilet paper tube under the paper towels (used to provide loft and air circulation) of their cage (no way it could have eclosed without hurting itself — I cut open the tube and pinned it to the side of their cage — somewhere in the cluttered corner of the room — came out without being found by the cats — up at the end of the curtain rod near the ceiling — and INSIDE the fan blade housing of an unused room fan — this one was not noticed until it had eclosed bright orange and black inside the fan — luckily the fan was never in use all that time.
Like Monarch chrysalis, it is possible to gently detach the Black Swallowtail chrysalis from where it has inconveniently placed itself and use substitute artificial tethers of thread affixed to a better suited position/location.
Wow thank you so much for the prompt response! I’ll be continuing my search today. The first caterpillar to go into chrysalis has a yellowish green tint to it, it’s the 8th day of it being in cocoon. Starting to get a little worried as there appear to be some cracks on the side of the cocoon. If you take a look at the picture I’m attaching please let me know what you think. I’m waiting for my netted cage to arrive in the mail before I move it to a colder location. Good to know re: condensation being a big no no. I read the opposite / the fridge instructions on a butterfly forum and felt it my gut that it sounded wrong but wanted to make sure. I’ll probably find the coldest room in my house and transplant the two there. Temperatures have already dropped to 65° here in Virginia so I’m guessing they may still emerge before winter. Will keep y’all updated!
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pepperhead212
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Welcome to the forum!
I don't actually raise butterflies, but I plant extras of two of the swallowtails favorites - dill and parsley. In the spring, they are all over the dill, and in the fall, it seems their taste switches to parsley this year. I haven't seen any of the black swallowtail caterpillars this year, only these:
Swallowtail caterpillars showing up again - maybe pipebush? Found 6, so far, but there are probably some more. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Last year, and this spring, I got a lot of the blacks:
One of 6 swallowtail caterpillars on the dill, 9-6 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
I don't actually raise butterflies, but I plant extras of two of the swallowtails favorites - dill and parsley. In the spring, they are all over the dill, and in the fall, it seems their taste switches to parsley this year. I haven't seen any of the black swallowtail caterpillars this year, only these:
Swallowtail caterpillars showing up again - maybe pipebush? Found 6, so far, but there are probably some more. by pepperhead212, on FlickrLast year, and this spring, I got a lot of the blacks:
One of 6 swallowtail caterpillars on the dill, 9-6 by pepperhead212, on Flickr-
applestar
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@agnimai, that one looks like “brown”/dried grass color (maybe I should have said “tan”) I mentioned. Now another theory is they match color to surface as camouflage — so the wooden cutting board may have prompted the coloration.
I would be curious to find out what this one does — if it’s going to eclose on normal timeframe, it should around 10 to 14 days.
Some of our “brown” ones had originally formed inside a habitat in SE facing windowsill and -with sunrise pouring in- should have been plenty warm, yet didn’t eclose during the Autumn days.
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I agree it’s best to maintain butterfly garden patch of culinary plants like dill, fennel, carrots, celery, etc. — separate from your eating garden. This way, you can be either ruthless or simply move any caterpillars you find on your food plants to the nursery patch and enjoy both.
@pepperhead, I’m intrigued by those caterpillars!
I would be curious to find out what this one does — if it’s going to eclose on normal timeframe, it should around 10 to 14 days.
Some of our “brown” ones had originally formed inside a habitat in SE facing windowsill and -with sunrise pouring in- should have been plenty warm, yet didn’t eclose during the Autumn days.
—
I agree it’s best to maintain butterfly garden patch of culinary plants like dill, fennel, carrots, celery, etc. — separate from your eating garden. This way, you can be either ruthless or simply move any caterpillars you find on your food plants to the nursery patch and enjoy both.
@pepperhead, I’m intrigued by those caterpillars!
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