Tag Archives: chrysalises

Wildlife Wednesday – Black Swallowtail Caterpillars and Parasitic wasps

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The Black Swallowtail Caterpillars have been feasting heavily on my parsley. The fennel has almost ran it’s course and I suppose that’s why the Mother Butterflies chose the parsley at last. I’m glad I planted it for just that purpose.

I’m more than a bit miffed about a new discovery with the chrysalises. Apparently there’s parasitic wasps that injects their eggs into the chrysalis. Their young feeds off the butterfly pupae and hatch out. I’ve found several chrysalises with the circular hole in them.

It’s a wonder that butterflies survive at all. 

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WildLife Wednesday – Black Swallowtail Butterflies

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6 Black Swallowtail butterflies have emerged from their chrysalises.  They’re so quick and sneaky that I haven’t had the priviledge of watching any of them emerge.
There are 3 males and 3 females. That’s pretty neat to have an even split.

There’s 1 chrysalis to go. It’s getting super dark and clearish. At this stage you can kind of see the yellow speckles of the wings. I figure it’ll hatch(?) within the next 24 hours.

It’s been very interesting dealing with the birthing of butterflies. However, I don’t plan to bring anymore caterpillars in this year. I’ve read that at some point the black swallowtail caterpillars build chrysalises to overwinter (diapause). I don’t know when that’ll be, so I’m not going to chance it. I figure they’d be better off overwintering out in nature the way God designed them too.

The butterflies have been an enjoyable part of this 4th of July holiday. I’m happy our Grandson got to see the chrysalises and new butterflies. It was an extra bit of fun to share.

Happy Wednesday!

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