They are Black Swallowtail eggs. Congratulations! You're in the BF raising business. Can you keep them in a container?

Samdu

Hi Samdu,

I thought they were Black Swallowtail eggs but was not sure. I have just put the 7 eggs with Fennel in 7 separate containers. Now what do I do? Do I add fresh Fennel to each container daily or wait till they hatch? How long till they hatch? I only purchased one Fennel plant at the nursery a month ago, as they told me it would attract Black Swallowtails to my yard. But I have seen very few butterflies in my yard and did not think I would have any eggs. I will contact the nursery tomorrow and see if they have anymore Fennel left. Can I just purchase parsley at Whole Foods and ask them if it has been sprayed?
So exciting.

Betty

You can put all 7 eggs in the same container. Make sure the fennel is in a water source as it has a tendency to dry out quickly. You don't need to add any food until the eggs hatch and the cats have eaten the fennel that they are on. Then add fresh as needed. Keep the frass cleaned out of the container. I usually put a newspaper in the bottom and change it out. Depending on when the eggs were laid, it could be five days or so until they hatch.

Tdogmom has a blog that tells a lot about different caterpillars. I'll include the link for you.

Black Swallowtails are easy to raise. Enjoy.

Sandy

Here is a link that might be useful: Butterfly Guide

Congratulations! YouÂll enjoy raising them Betty. IÂve fed them parsley from the store without a problem.

I have raised many black swallowtails and have rarely seen Momma laying her eggs! Usually, the only BST I get to see are the ones I release! LOL

Enjoy and have fun watching them go through the paces. Remember, they will purge their guts just before pupating and it looks rather nasty. When other cats do that, it generally means there is something wrong with them, but not the swallowtails. Funny how each caterpillar seems to have it's own idiosyncrasies (for example: the gulf frit chrysalis will twitch and/or move from side to side like a pendulum)

Mechelle

Thanks also to Sandy and Mechelle and Timcad,

So, it is ok to put the eggs in one container. I thought I read on line that some may hatch first and then eat the other eggs. And thanks Sandy for the link; I just read most of it before going to work. I am taking my eggs to work with me and my smaller Monarch cats---I am a nanny. I left 5 of the Monarch cats with my boss to care for last weekend, as the girls, ages 2 and 3 are attached to their " babies" and did not want me to take them home for the weekend. The Mom and Dad left for an overnighter and forgot to feed the Cats. They did not tell me they were leaving. I called the Dad and found out they were gone. Then I raced to the house and found two of the Cats dead. Three are doing well and not leaving my sight. Lesson learned--do not trust the care of your babies to someone that is just not that interested and very busy at the same time.

I had purchased the cats from Shady Oaks and they sent me 12 eggs for no extra charge. I did not do all of my homework and 7 of the 12 eggs hatched. The next day there were only 3 cats and I assume they were eaten by the others or died from dehydration. So this time I am trying to do it right. I am going to get some Fennel from the garden now and wrap a wet paper towel around it with aluminum foil so it will not dry out. That is what I am doing with each of the Milkweed Leaves to prevent anymore deaths and being more cautious.

Betty

Betty,

The problem with the cats eating each other is mainly when there are later instar cats with the newly hatched. They are so much bigger and can move faster, the new babies can't get out of the way fast enough. So as long as they are all about the same size, you can "house" several cats together, provided there is enough room for them to pupate without being on top of each other.

I purchased some small vases from Walmart and use those to keep the food fresh for the cats. The necks are rather small and keep the drownings down to a minimum, although some cats do occasionally go exploring and end up in the water.

Enjoy your new hobby (aka obsession) and don't beat yourself up over the ones that don't make it to adulthood. It happens. Sometimes we don't know why, they just don't. Just the fact that you are providing them with food and a safe house free of parasites and would be assassins is a big help to them. I read somewhere that the survival rate is somewhere around 15% for butterflies in the "wild". In my experience, I have had about 85-90% survival, so I guess I am doing something right.

About a week ago, I brought in some monarch eggs and never saw the cats emerge. So I left the leaves alone (they were in a cage with BST chrysalids) and yesterday, suddenly there were 3 cats on those dead, dried up leaves! (Boy were they happy when I supplied them with fresh food!)So, just because you don't see them right away doesn't always mean they didn't survive!

Mechelle

Thanks Mechelle,

Your words were encouraging and helpful. I am trying to do everything right, and you have helped me to just relax and not get uptight over every detail.

Betty

Betty, you will do a great job! Why? Because you care and are making the effort to hand raise them! Just remember, we all make mistakes - even those of us who've been raising them for a long time!

Just relax, and enjoy the experience! Once you see your first Black Swallowtail eclose (emerge from chrysalis), you will be so excited you can't stand it!

When they are ready to pupate (form a chrysalis), they will be large caterpillars (about 1.5" long and fat). They will go to the sides or top portion of the container to form an upside down "J" position, making a silk harness to hold them securely, and within a day (or few hours), you will notice that it's no longer a caterpillar, but has shed (molted) its skin and formed a hard shell-like chrysalis. With BSTs, it may be green or brown. Whoo-hoo! I'm excited for you just talking about it.

Susan

Thanks Susan,

It is so encouraging to know there are experts on this forum like yourself, who can answer all of my questions. Do I need to put sticks in there for them, when they are ready to pupate? I look at the eggs about 3 times a day and so far none have hatched. I have a pretty good magnifying glass and a few of them are turning a little darker.

Thanks again,

Betty

Betty,

The swallowtails do prefer to use sticks, although I have several that made their chrysalis on the side of the enclosure and on top of one another! Also, be aware that they may not emerge until next Spring or even the year after that! I have chrysalids that are about 3 years old now. They may not be viable, but until I know FOR SURE that they are goners, I am letting them hang out.

I had about 4 BSTs emerge in the time frame of mid January-mid February this year! I felt really bad for them since there were no flowers around for them to nectar on, but they only live about 7-14 days, so off they went, hopefully to find some nectar and host plants.

Mechelle

Thanks Mechelle,

I guess that means I would need to mist them throughout the winter, if I put their chrysalis in the garage?

Betty

I finally quit putting sticks in with the BSTs because it seemed they rarely used them, prefering to pupate on the lid or the sides of the container. Once the chrysalis is fully formed and hardened, there is usually some spidery-webby stuff surrounding the chrysalis and the cremaster (the tiny little black stem on the top) and I just remove it carefully and tape it all up to the windows outside. Yeah, my windows are probably a source of "...there is a lady who lives here that is very strange" for my mailman.

I have never misted my chrysalis's during the winter, Betty, and they've done fine.

Susan

Thanks Susan,

I will not put up sticks either. Well, guess what happened today---6 of my BST's hatched, and it looks like number 7 will come any minute. Guess I will just stay up tonight to watch. So exciting. They are all enjoying curly parsley. I am wrapping the parsley stem in a small piece of wet paper towel and then wrapping the paper towel in aluminum foil. I do not want them to get dehydrated.

Betty