Rue is good, and so is hop tree/Ptelea trifoliata, their favorite host plant in my area. Tiger swallowtails will also lay eggs on hop tree/wafer ash/P. trifoliata, so it does double duty. Oddly, black swallowtails will lay their eggs on rue, also, It's in the citrus family, not the carrot family, but they'll use it. I've even got pictures of both types cats on my rue plants. Sherry

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

Congrats, Rhonda. She was almost certainly laying eggs. As you know they often use citrus trees for that purpose. You might be seeing more giants in a month of so.

I tried putting both lemon and lime leaves in with the current Giant cats at the time of hatching to see if they would eat both. Even though both leaf sets were new growth, the lime leaves were slightly younger. All the cats moved to the more tender lime leaves. And my neighbors lemon has stopped putting on new growth. So no real tender lemon growth for the young cats is available. Plenty of slightly tougher new growth but the GS cats are not ready for that yet. So my experiment will have to be done at another time when both trees have similar growth. I also found out that 2 other neighbors have small citrus trees tucked in their side yards that I am welcome to raid of GS cats and eggs!!! :) I've been inviting them to help release the butterflies. It's so magical to see the look of wonder and awe on peoples faces when they watch butterflies. Anna