Giant Swallowtail in Garden

12 years ago

I have over forty giant swallowtail chrysalides in cages, and surely the oldest of them will start emerging soon! I used every Ptelea trifoliata leaf and nearly all the rue in raising them, but they're beginning to make new growth, which egg-laying females should love.

In the meantime, this adult visited the garden. Once again, milkweed is right up there with lantana in the popularity contest of nectar plants. The only thing badly wrong with my garden this year is I that I didn't plant any Mexican sunflowers. Mexican sunflowers are the BEST nectar plants for making pictures, because the butterflies can sit still on those big, platform flowers.

Anyway, here's today's visitor -

{{gwi:504104}}

Sherry

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Comments (9)

butterflymomok
12 years ago
Beautiful pictures!! I am seeing an occasional Giant Swallowtail nectaring, however, no eggs yet. I hope I get some this year. Haven't had any since I've lived here. They always found my rue at my other house.

Sandy
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runmede
12 years ago
Amazing. I need some of those beauties. It has been a long time since I have seen them in my area, but I see them further out in the country.

I have plenty of rue, some hop tree, and prickly ash, plus I think it is a hardy wild lime (purchased from a Georgia nursery). Bring them on.
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I just saw a Giant Swallowtail in my garden earlier this week, here in eastern Massachusetts! (See thread below "Rare visitor to my Garden" for pics). It is an extremely rare butterfly in this state, so I reported my sighting to Mass Audubon. Apparently there have been other scattered sightings this year. The naturalist said that it could be a "big flight year" in the state, which she said hasn't happened the 1800s! I have a theory that the severe drought in other parts of the country has pushed the butterflies into more hospitable regions, where they might not normally frequent. I grow Rue for the Black Swallowtails, got the seeds from another poster here - very easy to start from seed. I've looked over the plants, but haven't found any eggs.
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Sorry terrene about your giant Swallowtail chrysalis. I was rooting for it. Thanks for the picture of GST butterfly in your garden, it is AMAZING! I've never seen one in my life!! This thread was so interesting, I learned a lot, thanks to all who shared. terrene, could you possibly put a fine netting over the rue after butterfly visiting time each day, or over some of the rue, to keep out the predatory insects? You may raise the odds of more eggs that way. That reminds me to put the blanket over my outside enclosure, I still have some outdoor Monarch chrysalises. Or grow some rue in a 4 sided netted area, leaving daytime access of the top, then cover it with netting at night? Next year is a new opportunity to get your GST. I can see why you were so excited! (The caterpillar was also amazing looking).
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I saw the butterfly out in my pool garden when I walked past my glass front patio doors from inside The house. It was trying to land on a bloom on one Of my tallest and most fully leaved out Lantana bushes. It was late afternoon,after four o'clock ,but the sun was Still up. The bushes circle the pool which is abt 75 to 80 Steps from the door. So I was in the middle of doing Something,and did not stop because I thought it was a Palamedes at first glance since I saw its topside. Later I did recall it looked a bit off for a Palamedes. The next day I went outside and saw the butterfly Was still there and that it was not a butterfly I had Seen in the yard before.Once it roofed it's wings And I saw all that yellow I got one of my guides And verified it to be a Giant. I went close to it then And saw that one side was fine,but the other side Had a good top wing but the bottom wing had been Cut half off as though the insect had got it caught Or it had been snapped off by a bird or something. I was easily able to catch it in my hands,as it seemed Weak. I took it inside and put it in a screen top tank To rest, but it died later that day. I went ahead and Mounted it for display with the group of insects that I have collected under similar circumstances(I do not Net and mount butterflies and dragonflies that I Provide habitat for and see on the road). The butterfly measured abt 5" across wing tip to Wing tip,and abt 3"long with wings spread; it's body Was abt 1 1/8" long. I was very impressed with its beauty,and hope I see Another one(more likely further south to Mobile Or Florida line). DD
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Well, KC, if you've got 10 eggs/cats so far, that's more than I've got, at least so far. My gal is still living in the garden - if she's not already there when I go in the garden, she soon flies in. I was very happy to find two eggs this afternoon, both on the rootstock of my old orange tree. This tree had gotten real big, but was killed by a hard freeze about ?2 years ago. New growth came up from the rootstock last year, which appears to be 'Swingle' rootstock, a hybrid of Poncirus trifoliata/hardy orange and Duncan grapefruit. Its leaves are too big to be hardy orange (which comes up on my property, so I'm familiar with what it looks like) but smaller than grapefruit leaves, for sure. The weather has continued to be mostly cloudy since the rain stopped, not good egg-laying weather, so, hopefully, she'll lay more eggs when the heat and sunshine return. I have several wafer ashes, several rue bushes, the Swingle rootstock and an orange tree. I don't think she'll lay eggs on the leathery leaves of my (new) orange tree, though. Here's a picture of one of the eggs - Here's a picture of her yesterday during a brief sunny period, still on those pentas! Tom, I've put Pentas lanceolata Nova on my wish list at Almost Eden, a mail-order nursery in Louisiana. I don't like to order plants from too far away, especially when it's hot - they're a lot more likely to arrive dead, damaged or dried up. Kartuz Greenhouses are in California, as you know. Almost Eden says they're 'temporarily out' which is okay with me, I have enough plants for this year. But Nova looks like a good one! While I was on the web site, I checked the mountain mint, and they've finally gotten some of our native type, Pycnanthemum albescens or something like that, not sure I got the scientific name right. I ordered the 4 plants they have of the mountain mint, plus a blue porterweed. The butterflies always like porterweed, but I haven't grown any lately, because I didn't want to fool with the coral colored type, the only type that reliably comes back from the root each spring. It grows so tall, it always falls over and makes a BIG mess. Now that I know how easy it is to dig up pentas and replant them the next spring, I'll do the same with the blue porterweed. I bet you have porterweed, too! Sherry
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MissSherry
Original Author
12 years ago
When mine start to emerge, I'll send them your way! :)
When I was out checking the bare limbs of one of the Ptelea bushes looking for new growth, this little dragonfly perched right in front of my face, so I had to make its picture -
{{gwi:504106}}
My Pteleas never get more than about 6' tall. Does anybody have any tips on how to get them to grow bigger? I put chicken manure, sometimes mixed with chemical fertilizers, around them periodically, but their growth is still limited.
The male gulf frit that's been hanging around was flitting from one lantana flower to the other -
{{gwi:504107}}
Sherry
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christie_sw_mo
12 years ago
I'm jealous!
I have prickly ash Giant Swallowtails but there's some sort of beetle larva that attacked them early this spring and nearly defoliated them. Not much left for the Giant Swallowtails and I haven't seen a single one this year.
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MissSherry
Original Author
12 years ago
The first giant swallowtail emerged this morning, and I just released him - 'looked like a male, but I'm not sure.
I got another 2" of rain yesterday - YAY!
I actually saw TWO gulf frits at one time in my garden! One was the above pictured individual, and the other was a somewhat worn male - still no female. It's strange, because of the twelve gulf frits I released earlier, about eight of them were females. Before the hurricane, there would be six or seven gulf frits in my garden at one time - sigh. Maybe those days will return eventually.
All the giant swallowtail host plants are making new growth, which is good!
Sherry
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christie_sw_mo
12 years ago
I can't type. I meant to say I have Prickly Ash FOR Giant Swallowtails.
Last summer, the Gulf Frits ventured north to my garden but I don't think it's common for them to get this far. I hope they do show up again. They're beautiful!
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MissSherry
Original Author
12 years ago
Yes, they are beautiful, Christie!
I see typos that I make here and there on this forum. I read the preview, so you'd think I'd see all my mistakes!
I knew you meant prickly for giant swallowtails, not a new type of swallowtail. :)
Sherry
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MissSherry
Original Author
12 years ago
Oops! I meant prickly ASH for giant swallowtails - you started something here! :)
Sherry
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jeanner
12 years ago
That giant is a beauty! I dont know why but the giants only come to see me when they are pretty worn and tattered. I love that dragonfly too.

Thank you, I enjoyed your pictures.
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Giant Swallowtail in Garden

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