Black Swallowtail Caterpillar

13 years ago

I have a question...

I am NEW to raising and hosting caterpillars. I had purchased some dill at my local farmers market and became the proud owner of a black swallowtail caterpillar. I let him live and grow on the dill for over a week. I purchased some new dill as I saw the old was turning into seeds. My little caterpillar was having a hard time finding the new dill and I thought I would help him.. but to my dismay- he fell about 8 inches onto my kitchen table. I was soo sad, I was just trying to help.

So, I scooped him up with a thin piece of paper and put him into a large bowl with some dill.

This afternoon, he stopped climbing on the dill and is now just laying on the bottom of the bowl..he is also on his side.

He is moving ever so little... but no climbing or eating of the dill.

How long should I keep hope for him to climb back onto the dill or is this a lost cause?

Can he form chrysalis on his side after not feeding for a few days?

Thanks in advance for your help...

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Comments (12)

shannon74
13 years ago
Hi Sara - those little guys are tougher than they look, I have had a few act weird like that and then end up fine, I would not give up on him yet!! I have also had a Giant Swallowatil form a chrysalis on his side and turn out fine. Keep in mind that before they pupate they will not eat for a while.

Shannon
runmede
13 years ago
It might be molting, too. Sometimes this can take 48 hours. There's good information in the FAQ section. Click on hand-rearing butterflies. Good luck. You are definitely not the only one that has dropped an egg, caterpillar, pupae...

Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ
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In case anyone is interested, the caterpillar in the foreground of the second picture in the first post WAS preparing to pupate. Here it is now. As you can see, the new pupa is mostly green, while the underside is yellow. I assume it will eventually all turn brown. The picture clearly shows the strand holding it to the stem of the parsley, and some of the caterpillar shape is visible inside. There is another caterpillar that is ready for pupation. It also has "gone still" and while the head remains attached to the stem as though it's holding on with its mouth, the portion of its body just below the head is curved outward, with the rest of its body tapering closer to the stem to where the bottom is still attached. I don't see any sign of the strand that will attach the upper part of its body to the stem, but maybe it hasn't done that yet. The pupation beyond this point is pretty rapid -- the one that's a pupa now took only one day from appearing like a large curved caterpillar "statue" and the pupa. The younger ones are still feeding and grasp the stems and leaves with all their feet, so they lie flat and move around. They can live for more than six months in the pupal stage, to emerge in the Spring. The parsley it's attached to will die with winter freezes, so I'll have to find a protected spot outside for this one and the other ones when they pupate.
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It has been a banner year for the BSTs for me this year! Not so for the monarchs :-( But I am hopeful they will make a comeback as well. All of my mw's are healthy and bushy, just waiting for hungry cats! I have had about 35 bst's to raise this year, most are already gone or in chrysalis. Sunday had a female trying to lay eggs on a very windy day and she had trouble landing on the stems. Sadly, the eggs she did manage to lay were infertile (empty shells). But I keep finding new cats and don't know how they got there. I look my fennel and dill over very carefully and still manage to miss an egg or two. I have put various stems of their host plants: fennel, rue, dill, parsley, carrot tops and queen anne's lace in the enclosure at the same time and let the cats pick their favorite food and go for it until it is gone and they have to pick another favorite. They seem to adjust to whatever is available just fine. Good luck. Mechelle
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Thank you guys so much! I am worried because it's my first time, also because I just moved in a new apartment where I do have a private garden and a shed, but I don't know if there are any vermin. As for the BST I have never laid my eyes on them in live, only saw them on google. I was staying few months with my MIL and she lives in country side and has a huge garden, so she gave me a little part to do my vegetable garden. Since I am crazy about herbs (I gome from Republic of Georgia, where we cook with tons of herbs) I planted all sorts and few weeks ago when I went to clean up my garden I found those. Neighbour told me they made white butterflies, but after googling I found out what they were. As a kid in Georgia I used to have silkworms and since then I always wanted to breed butterflies, never really got to it since we have been moving all around Europe. I just got lucky and I want to carry on. I was planning to get some butterfly kits and nets online, but when I saw their prices I made the netting myself as I am sure many of you do. Now when I picked my Dill and Parsley there seemed to be another egg and it's hatched now, I am going to visit my MIL and check my plants if I find some more. Thanks everyone for helping and sorry to be a pain. BTW I am having problems uploading photos directly from my PC, gonna figure that out so I can share some photos too, Another question, container does nod need to have air holes?
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If you leave him outside, he will pupate and then overwinter where ever he attached, and come out in the spring. Of course there's the chance he will get eaten now, or his chrysalis could be damaged in a bad storm, etc. etc. If you want to raise him, do what flcajun said. A garage is or shed is a good place to keep a chrysalis, or a screened in porch that has some protection from the wind. What you don't want is to keep it inside your warm house, because it could emerge in the middle of the winter. My first batch of Black Swallowtails overwintered, and the last chrysalis from this year is likely going to.
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fighting8r
13 years ago
Don't beat yourself up. I've seen mine fall from 5-6 feet onto concrete and not be hurt at all, they are tough as Shannon said. Whatever he is experiencing is most likely not as a result of anything you have done. Keep watching him and see what happens...

kelly
sara_chicago
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for all the kind words... it's very encouraging!
However, its been 48 hours and he still is not climbing or eating.
I do see his little body moving.. just a tad, almost like he is breathing ever so lightly.
If he is going to form chrysalis- how long will it be before I can tell this is happening?
Also, I bought him a butterfly garden habitat that is safe for him- but I am so afraid to move him now, should I wait to move him?
Thanks again...
runmede
13 years ago
If it is molting (shedding its skin for a new instar), then if you move it, it could cause major problems. They go through 5 instars (molts). How cold is in your house? That can slow things down. They can pupate without hanging. But, usually swallowtails clear their bowels before they start the pupation process. Loads of runny frass (poop).
sara_chicago
Original Author
13 years ago
My caterpillar is back up on the dill and climbing!
Thanks for encouraging me not to give up,
he is doing fine and hopefully is going to pupate soon...
I think he is clearing his bowels, but it's not too runny...more black little pellets.
How often does he need new dill? Can I feed him milkweed too?
docmom_gw
13 years ago
Sara,
Your cat will need fresh dill whenever the dill s/he has runs out or wilts. And, no, milkweed won't help a swallowtail. That would be for Monarch cats.

Martha
mechelle_m
13 years ago
Sara,

If you run out of dill, you can also use fennel, parsley, carrot tops (the green leafy part) or rue. I have used Queen Anne's Lace, but the cats will only go to that when there is none of the others left for them. Good luck!

Mechelle
fighting8r
13 years ago
yeah!
Danielle Rink Donadoni
7 years ago
I found 4 swallowtail caterpillar s in my parsley garden. I put them in a butterfly holder my kids have but they are not moving after 5 minutes. I didn't touch them. But snipped the branch they were on and put them in. Not sure where to go. It seems late for them to change over.
theparsley
7 years ago
My swallowtail caterpillars are always really, really lazy. They don't really move a lot unless they need to get to food. I've had them fall over onto their sides when I'm moving food around in a cage, and they don't even bother to crawl back up for a while. They start crawling all over the place when they're ready to pupate, which is noticeable because before that, they tend to be really inert!
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I know this is extremely old but isn't funny how lazy they are then boom one day they're marathon runners!

Black Swallowtail Caterpillar

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Black Swallowtail Caterpillar

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