We have had more Giant Swallowtails this year than we have ever had, often 4 nectaring on the same lantana bush at the same time. Seen lots doing the mating dance but I have no host plants so I'm not sure where the female is laying her eggs. A neighbor behind us has an ash tree and I hope they do not use it...he sprays EVERYTHING! Peggy

That makes sense to me Bananas! May was warm and dry here in New England, but the first few weeks of June were cool and very wet. Not the best butterfly weather. So far this year I've seen Mourning cloaks, lots of ETS, a few commas/question marks, a spring azure, cabbage whites, and a few other little ones I don't recall the exact species. Just had my first sighting of a BST in the yard today, an older looking female. Released 7 BSTs in May that had overwintered in a mesh sleeve. Five of those were males, but the last one was a female so perhaps this was my last release? I should check for eggs. I haven't found any here yet, but just before Memorial day, I found 4 BST eggs on the fennel in the nursery. Brought them home, and 3 of those just pupated yesterday and the 4th one is 5th instar - he/she is a laggard. No Monarchs yet, but that's no surprise with the recent rains. There's plenty of great quality milkweed, and the Ascepias syriaca and A. tuberosa are in full bloom! Wishing everybody a great butterfly year. This post was edited by terrene on Wed, Jun 26, 13 at 14:18

That's crazy! We have released 65 monarchs year to date and that is using every bit of milkweed I have. Now my giant milkweed is finally getting going so maybe I'll be able to keep up better. Those scrawny tropical mw leaves only take a few minutes for a cat to eat! We've been trying to remember to log our releases this year, and to date it's 311. Monarchs at 65 are the winners, followed by gulf frits at 59 and orange barred sulphurs at 50. Actually I can just attach the list: Black Swallowtail 37 Cloudless sulphur 6 Giant Swallowtail 21 Great Southern White 10 Gulf Fritillary 59 Julia 6 Monarch 65 Orange barred sulphur 50 Polydamas Swallowtail 15 Queen 3 White Peacock 4 Zebra Longwing 35 The monarchs have been laying lots of eggs lately. Each time I say I am not bringing in ANY more, I accidentally bring in a few eggs on food leaves, then I HAVE to keep them too. It never gets old though watching the process. Does take your time though!

Thanks guys! It is thrilling to finally have Black Swallowtail eggs. I was about to give up on having them this season. I just love the cats. I think that their colors and patterns are so beautiful. I am secretly hoping to have a black one some day. :o) Rose, I raise most of my caterpillars outside on my porch in rearing tents. The exceptions so far have been the Zebra and the Spicebush Swallowtails. Those guys require some extra attention, so I raise them inside. Indeed, there are many creatures that eat butterfly eggs, caterpillars, and chrysalides. Simply by providing host plantings though, you have done a very valuable thing for the butterflies. Generally speaking, it can take from about 10 days to 3 weeks for pupation to occur. It just depends upon the species and the temperature the cats are kept in. Some species of cats are voracious eaters (Monarchs and I am told Pipevines) and others don't eat as much. Bigger caterpillars eat more than smaller ones. It can become a very time consuming hobby for sure. Swallowtail caterpillars that pupate in the fall do tend to overwinter as chrysalides, but there is no hard and fast rule. Trial and error teaches a person how much food is going to be enough food I think. If your life is extremely hectic, and you don't even have time for yourself, then don't worry about the caterpillars right now. Some will survive, and you have made that possible with your plantings. There is always time for hand raising in the years to come when you have more time for yourself. :o)