Penny, one of my giant swallowtails that's in the "C" has come undone from its upper support also. I'm afraid to try and detach it now, since it's liquid inside. I think I remember that when this happened before the pupating cat successfully pupated while attached only at the rear. After the chrysalid had set for several days and hardened, I carefully detached the silk pad, then put the chrysalid in the upright position in one of my foam rubber cradles. I think the butterfly emerged in perfect condition, at least I sure hope so, because this is how I'm going to handle this situation. Sherry

It had hardened when I checked this morning, but it just looks so strange - like it's levitating! LOL! I've never seen anything like that before. I am going to have to move it MissSherry. I usually pull up the silk and tape it to the windowsill where the chrysalis can hang properly. People I'm sure think it's weird to see lines of chrysalis's on the top of my windowsill! LOL! Gwynne, sometimes when they fall, it does damage them internally, but then again, sometimes it doesn't. I hope your BST is okay! Thanks for the information everyone! Susan

What can I expect if my guys pupated too soon? What kinds of problems will happen? I ask that, because I am wondering why these two fellows seem to be frozen in ready-to-eclose mode. I am assuming they are dead. I am just wondering if this might have been caused by early pupation. I had a mass pupation approx 12 days ago. It was spooky - everyone went at the same time, like a zombie movie. They all had lots of food available at the time they pupated. But they were not the size I would expect for a mature caterpillar to pupate. I have two guys that are just hanging there. We are still in the 10-14 day range. In the past when I have had successful ecloses, they go transparent and the monarch emerges 1-2 days later. These guys turned transparent maybe 4 days ago. I can see the monarch inside. There is absolutely no odor. I thought the Black Death made them smelly. One, however, has a very dry chrysalis. No black dots. Both of them are in isolation. I will give them another day or so, because anecdotally, folks here have said sometimes they will take their time, especially if the weather has been weird. (It has been weird, but they've been inside....) I was just wondering that their apparent demise was the result of their early pupation, rather than a pathology like OE or the Black Death. Regardless of the reason, I am planning to perform the vigorous sterilization that you have recommended.

There are lots of great photos of Tiger Swallowtail cats at all instars and different forms as butterflies at this link. I know I've seen them in the yard and nectaring but I can never get close enough or see enough detail through old binoculars to properly ID them and their particular forms. The Tiger cats are very different from the BST cats after a couple instars but without a good magnifying glass they appear similar early on from photos I see on linked site. Good luck with all of them! There's just something about Swallowtails I really like... Here is a link that might be useful: Tiger Swallowtails