We had them in the house last year and if I remember right, I think the pupal stage was the same as the swallowtails, around two weeks. I am terrible at keeping track. You are in for a treat! The chrysalis is so pretty! They overwinter as adults. In fact, I see them on the trails in the woods early spring. As long as it is warm enough they are out. They are one of my favorites in the house (uh oh, there goes one of my favorite three bumped off the list). Although they "nectar" on sap in the woods, they use flowers in the house and land on our shoulders all the time. They are very personable. You might end up growing a hops vine after this. Cascade makes a good beer I hear :)!
-Elisabeth

You are so fortunate! I've been waiting for them to find the hops vines in my gardens for two years. A few years ago I found a dead adult in my garden, so I figure some day they will find the hops.

Have fun--can you post pics?

The large cat is pupating (is that a word?) today so I'll get some pics tonight if possible. The elm that they found was only about a foot high so I wonder if elm would be their preferred choice to hops? You might want to give it a shot if it's been two years on the hops and no cats. I'm assuming you could control the growth of an elm if you pot it. Just a thought!

I don't even know if there is elm around here--I know that there is some disease that destroyed most of the trees, but someone somewhere is working on a disease resistant elm.

I'll have to go check for what elm seedling trees look like. If I can find any, I'll definitely do the tree in the pot suggestion! Looking forward to hearing about your QMs!