Since GSTs are slow, I'm guessing by the time they pupate, it'll be fall, and they'll overwinter, but that isn't a guarantee - there never is!
Congrats on your GSTs! I haven't gotten any GST cats in quite a while and haven't even seen any adults lately - I hope to get eggs soon, so I can have some to overwinter.
Sherry

Thanks Sherry for the info. This is my first year to raise butterflies, I found what I thought was the ugliest caterpillar on my lemon tree this summer and once I found out what he was I ended up trying to raise the little guy, now I am hooked. My husband thinks I am nuts, we have three small children so it's not like I don't already have my hands full. :-) Anyway, the GSTs have been out like crazy here in TX this summer, I mean I have never noticed so many butterflies. I think they like our extremely hot climate.

Haha, Shannon74, Same thing happened to me, I saw the "ugliest" little caterpillars on my swarf navel tree and looked them up and have been fascinated with them since, and trying to make sure they survive to become butterflies. I think you are right about the extremely hot climate, I am in baton rouge, la, and found eggs everyday for about 3 days on my dwarf navel, then i found some more at my mom's house on her satsuma orange, so I took them in too, lol. I have two that have pupated so far, they were the only two that made it from the first bunch, which I was hesitant to bring in for a while because I didn't want to interfere, but after seeing that there were less of them everyday, i decided I would try to raise them so they would have a chance to survive.

Shannon, I just released one GST yesterday that eclosed along with a BST...I saw another GST adult on my purple butterfly bush nectaring. Last year, my first to raise cats, I raised both BSTs & monarchs up until November. All the monarchs eclosed & headed south but I had at least a dozen BSTs that overwintered. They all eclosed except one that I thought must be dead...she eclosed yesterday. I never realized they could wait so long!
I have a GST cat that was on the hop tree I just planted. I moved it to my lemon tree because there aren't but a couple of leaves left on it. I have had a real time getting rue to not die here. I don't know if it is too wet or too much hot sun or what. I have lots of PVS cats as well as eggs on my pipevines that I planted last year. We'll see if the GSTs lay again...I think they over winter as crysalids here, but I'm not sure. My GF cats are still munching away. They are the most abundant BFs that I have here west of DFW.

The GSTs and GFs still flying of here in OKC despite our cooler weather. In fact, GFs are still laying eggs.

Yesterday I was out looking at the new Butterfly Bush I got Thursday at HD (I think it is Royal Red, which is really a deep reddish purple or violet color) which the butterflies took to immediately. In my peripheral line of sight I saw something huge and birdlike. Redirecting my sight, I realized it was the biggest GST I've ever seen. This was the King Kong of GSTs. Need to go check the Rue (assuming any is left after a bumper BST summer). I know that GSTs are the largest swallowtail in the US, but this thing was almost an anomaly! Sure was a beauty!

Congrats on your eggs and cats!

Susan

hi everyone

imabirdnut, the mama GSTs have absolutely inundated my orange and meyer lemon trees this year so I am sticking with those. Thankfully we have a lot of new growth the past couple of weeks. I just removed about 20 eggs to raise in containers, I had to leave a bunch on the trees because I ran out of containers! :-)

I was really surprised when the first GST I had pupate eclosed about a month ago after only 12 days. He was healthy except that in my stupidity - I am new to this - I had seen that he was turning black and thought something was wrong so I placed him in a plastic container to get him away from the other cats and when I came back a few minutes later he had eclosed and could not get footing in the plastic so his wings were permanently damaged. I felt horrible. So that is the only butterfly I have seen yet. I was just so surprised to see him b/c everything I had read said they overwinter. I am learning as I go, thank goodness I found this forum!

Susan, the HD here had B.Attraction which is a deep magenta that seems to really attract the BFs!!!
Shannon, I have had that happen a couple of times with both a BST & just recently, one of my first Pipevines. Her wings where bent & she tried to fly so hard...I wanted to cry! She had sticks to hang from but for some reason her wings were bent at the ends. I released this weekend a beautiful female BST, a GST, 1 male PVS,& 3 female PVSs today! I love helping them!
I have a lemon tree in a pot for the GSTs but they have ignored it...that's why I keep buying rue even though I can't seem to figure out the right location in my yard. I wonder if it doesn't like our well water??? I am the one who was fortunate enough to get a free 8 ft Wafer Ash tree...I planted it last weekend & I sure hope it makes it!!! There was one little GST cat on it that had eaten all but a few of the 12 leaves it had on it. I moved it to the lemon tree so hopefully it will survive.

Imabirdnut, I don't water my Rue at all once it gets established. Even in the drought this summer, I just ignored it. It did great - much better than had I watered it even the smallest bit. Are you growing it in the ground or in pots? I did not have any luck with it in pots either. It likes partial shade and very dry soil, with some clay in it, rather than potting mix in pots. It bloomed like crazy this summer with not water and quite a bit of shade in my backyard, but it has taken some experimentation to figure out its likes and dislikes, and it is also a short-lived perennial - 5 or 6 years max - after which it gets very woody and won't resprout from the woody stems. In the Northern zones it can take a lot more sun, but from the upper south to warmer zones it prefers some shade fromn our hot sun.

I may have actually bought 'Attraction' which I believe is smaller in size. As long as the butterflies like it, whichever it is, is okay with me, too. I had a Nanho Blue that did not attract them at all, so I hope to avoid that problem.