It was early September and I was standing on my back porch enjoying a bit of afternoon sunshine, when I saw a large butterfly, dusky winged but with the telltale tails of the swallowtail, fluttering down the driveway. For some reason that I did not at that moment comprehend, she (for she it was) seemed fascinated by the two orange trees growing in pots outside. She fluttered from leaf to leaf, never staying on one for long. And then it hit me. She’s laying eggs. Oh no! She’s laying eggs in September in Vermont! Which is how I came to have a family of giant swallowtail caterpillars on my porch, over whom I am anxiously watching as the nights get colder and their prospects as children of nature diminish….
It took a while to recognize the little caterpillars who hatched from those invisible eggs a few days later. What we noticed was chewed leaves at the top of the larger of the two citrus trees — something was eating the new growth. Then we saw the pathetic little things that looked, for all the world, like little bits of bird do. So I looked them up on the Internet to see what giant swallowtail caterpillars are supposed to look like, and sure enough, their natural protection against avian predators is making themselves look like bird do. This is a sensible approach since giant swallowtails feed at night, spending the day sitting quietly on top of the leaves of their tree.
The caterpillars grew. I fretted each time there was a frost warning, and brought them in on the porch when it seemed like it might get too cold outside. There are six of them, munching away, growing slowly. Unchecked, they seem very likely to attempt their complete life cycle and make chrysalises, as they are wont to do. But how long do they stay in their chrysalises?
Woman about town Dora Boubolis dropped by and suggested that I call the Magic Wings butterfly conservatory in Deerfield, MA. I did, and their very kind manager explained to me that my particular butterfly brood did not overwinter in their pupal stage. They hatch in a matter of weeks and start flying around looking for food. We both doubted there would be much for them to eat in late October. But what to do? The conservatory has mostly tropical butterflies in its care, and for that reason, they’re fearful of contamination from wild critters such as mine. But they were nice and said I could call their curator if I became desperate.
So far, the nights have stayed above freezing, giving me time to mull possible solutions to my dilemma. Maybe my parents-in-law would like to come get them and drive them to their time share in Florida? Not likely. Maybe a botanical garden would like to have some unusual winter pets in their glassed-in conservatory? I know I would.
My mother told me an interesting story about my grandmother, who claimed that when she was a child, a butterfly came into their house on her mother’s shoulder and spent the winter with them, living among the house plants. This seemed far-fetched to say the least, but on the other hand, my grandmother is not a fanciful person given to making stuff up. Could a butterfly live in someone’s house? What would they eat, in real life? Would they not more likely become food for cats, or worse, playthings? Questions, questions.
So that is where we are in the ongoing saga of the giant swallowtails living at our house. These last few days of Indian Summer have been wonderful, but nevertheless, we’re running out of time and open to suggestion. It may seem crazy, but what can we do? We met their mother. She entrusted them to us.
Photo credit: Giant swallowtail by Cary Bass (courtesy of Wikipedia Commons), caterpillar photo by the author…
More swallowtail caterpillars
Gary from DPW wrote this morning to tell me that he had a large Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillar on his parsley recently. Check out his photo — the Eastern Black Swallowtails are much more photogenic than my strange little Giant Swallowtails.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mountain_gary/15176552908/
Is it normal for swallowtails to be attempting reproduction this late in the season, I wonder?
Still caterpillaring
It is fun to have these temporary pets to watch over.
They do look like bird poop, but close examination shows them to be rather lively and very hungry. Each one seems to choose a leaf for the day, and then gets to work nibbling and resting.
They are munching my orange grove, but a few leaves off the top of the tree seems like a fine sacrifice to make for them.
Like Lise, I’m wondering if they will become butterflies before winter, and what we should do with them if they do?
Advice and suggestions is appreciated.
Caterpillar Update
After bringing the caterpillar tree into the house last night, because it seemed too cold for either the tree or the caterpillars, it occurred to me today to do a little research about their situation. As it turns out, swallowtails can have late broods that overwinter as chrysalises. This takes a load off my mind. If true, they could easily overwinter on the porch once they make their chrysalises, and all we have to do to make that happen is put them back out on the porch to finish their caterpillar phase. Like house plants in the spring, they have to become acclimated to the cold, not just dumped into it. But I’m giving them a brief interval of warmth before we put them out again on the next mild day.
They are decidedly bigger now but in my view, no way big enough to make chrysalises. We’ll see how much longer they munch before getting into their pupal phase. LOL. Butterfly lingo is funny. The name for the winter dormancy period that we’re hoping for is diapause. Diapause is much better than grown butterflies flapping around your house in November.
Good luck!
Here’s hoping they make a successful overwintering and you have butterflies in the Spring. You’re foster-butterfly-parents!
Baby swallowtail
Well, a swallowtail hatched.
They came in on the orange tree when it got cold and crawled around as caterpillars for a while. One formed a chrysalis on the tree; another jumped off and chose the end of our couch. Yesterday morning, we found a butterfly at the end of the couch:
Cute, eh? It spent a while drying and flexing its wings while we researched lifespans of swallowtails. Turns out, they only live a few weeks, and they like to eat sweet things, like nectar or fruit.
We’ve put it in a room away from curious cats, and opened a window in case it would like to leave, but are prepared to keep it inside among the plants for as long as we can if it chooses to stay.
The other chrysalis had been relocated to Lise’s mom’s house, so we’ll see if a sibling emerges soon.
It's beautiful. And it goes
It’s beautiful. And it goes so well with your couch! This makes me want to take another ride to the butterfly place in Western MA. So much fun and they also have some very unusual and creepy big bugs there which is great for a 5 year old grandson! Nice for you and Lise to have this fleeting bit of nature in your house at this dark and cold time of year.
Flew the coop
Day one was establishing the new wings.
Day two was spent on an open window sill, looking out at the world and watching as people, cars, animals, and other bugs went by. When the sun went down and it started to get cold, the swallowtail came back into the room, walked across an orange slice, spent some quality time with Lise on her knee, then flew around the room and back near the window to settle in for the night.
Day three was gorgeous out, and again the window was opened. The swallowtail was at the window. I asked it if it planned to stay here, or go out into the world and ran down the pros and cons of each. It stayed by the window until midday, when Lise came in to check. As she was saying hello and helping it, it hopped down from the window shade, then flew out the window.
Well. That was fun. We wish the swallowtail all the best in its short little life. If you see one out and about, it could be this one, so say hello.