Wouldn't it be nice if all butterflies were as VERY OBVIOUS about laying eggs as Monarchs? :) I'd love to be able to look out my window and know right away whether there were eggs without even having to check the plant. Usually any time I see an adult around the host plant, I assume it's for eggs, because most host plants in my yard aren't as good for necker as the necker plants in my yard. But maybe they're just checking fondly on childhood memories and wondering how the neightborhood's doing now, if there's any babies growing up there, etc. :)

Curious - does your ptelea trifoliata root in the water like Rue does? You could probably feed them Rue or Lemon leaves if you ever run out of wafer ash. Like that's gonna happen! LOL! Last year, I fed some of my lemon foliage to them, and they ate it readily. So even if I don't get eggs, and I have more lemon than Rue, I can feed them that. My lemon tree has doubled in size from last year - probably due to the chicken manure I'm top dressing on it. I have gone to the Citrus Forum, and they recommend all these products I've never heard of, for feeding their lemons, when the CM does just as well IMHO! That's amazing - their growth rate! They are usually such sluggish eaters for me. Susan

I can see why you think those two catetpillar species look alike. But they are not related at all. The 'spit fire' of your memory is one of the stinging catetpillars...the adults are moths. We have related species ovef here....yikes, they pack a powerful sting. The Orchard Swallowtail butterfly is very closely related to our Giant Swallowtail. Magnificent butterflies. Their caterpillars do NOT sting but are capable of devouring a whole lot of foliage....overnight. I grow seedling lemons for the sole purpose providing a host plant for these caterpillars. The trees look like you know what before too long, but its fun to watch the whole lifecycle unfold before your eyes. I should add that if you decide to protect your young tree, you can probably do so without any chemicals. Between the birds, the tiny parasitic wasps, and other wasps and hornets, and your own fingers, you should be able to avoid excessive damage. This post was edited by rhizo_1 on Tue, Feb 26, 13 at 6:24

I'm so sorry you are having such a time. Are you keeping the lime cuttings in water? Hopefully, someone will come along who is familiar with wild lime and can offer some suggestions. I, too, am raising Giant Swallowtails for the first time in several years but mine began on Rue and that is what I continue to feed. They ARE slow eaters. I have four tiny babies on little pinches of Rue stuck in the large water picks and those little pinches have fed them for days. I have two in the rearing cage that look like they're are about ready to form their chrysalis. There is also a teenager in the cage still feeding. For being such large butterflies, the amount of food they consume seems small to me. I am raising them inside, where the temp is about 72 degrees constant. I don't know how they would do, might consume more food, if their cage was set up outside in a more natural setting. I had a woods rat or mouse (or something?) chew holes in one of my new rearing cages sitting on my potting bench to get to the little monarch cats inside so I brought everybody else inside. I am wondering if these GST chrysalides will overwinter in my area now that we are moving into fall? Mary