Oh cool! That helped me identify what I have. I found a Black Swallowtail chrysalis on a branch in the yard. The branch had broken off and I was going to haul it off. I saved the stick it was on and have it on the patio. Should I do anything special with it?

Lynn

Susan,

Love the photos! I have had tons and tons of black swallowtail butterfly cats in the garden for about a month or so. They are simply devouring the parsley and dill I planted for them!

I am glad you are having success raising your cats.

Hi Lynn!

I am sure Susan will have an answer for your question. I don't think you have to do anything special with the chrysalis though. I usually leave them where I find them unless, like you, I find one lying on a broken branch or something. It takes about 8 or 10 days for the butterfly to emerge. It will dry its' wings for an hour or two and then go nectaring. In my yard, the newly emerged swallowtail butterflies often find the pentas first, and then move on to other plants from there.

Dawn

Dawn's correct, Lynn (as usual, heehee!). She knows so much about gardening and I call her the Fearless Gardening Warrior Woman! She is not intimidated by anything; she just goes at it like there's no such thing as losing. I read a book once called the "Goddess in Everywoman", and whenever I think of that book, I think of Dawn. She is the Dawn of Everywoman and we all love her here.

Lynn, if it were me - and I know not everyone is - I would take the branch, prop it up in a container that you can cover with Glad wrap, a paper towel, or something and fasten that material on the top, and when the butterfly emerges you can actually see it - it's fascinating to watch. You will know when it is about to occur, because the chrysalis will turn dark and you can actually SEE the wings inside the chrysalis! Wow! It is so COOL!

After it turns dark it could be 1 or 2 days before the swallowtail emerges, but watch it closely so you don't miss the big event. The butterfly will literally "slip" out of the chrysalis and hang onto the bottom, with very wet, crumpled wings. That's why it needs enough room around and below it, so that its wings have room dry, as slowly pumps blood into them to straighten them out and dry them. It won't move around a whole lot for anywhere from 2 to several hours. Once the wings are dry, it you want a really good look at it, put your finger just in front of its front legs and it will crawl onto your finger - just like you do with pet birds!

You can easily snap photos of it during this time when it is not moving around much yet. Butterflies don't usually nectar for the first 24 hours after eclosing, so you don't need to worry about it not eating yet. He or she will let you know when it is ready to get the heck out of Dodge! It will either fly off on its own, or you can gently put it on some flowers in the garden in a sunny spot so it can warm its wings for flying. Butterflies need to "heat up" their wings (they are ectothermal) so they can fly.

How wonderful - I'm so happy. Sometimes chrsalises are green and sometimes brown. I have a brown one, too, altho I have yet to figure out why two are green and one is brown when they are in the same container. One of those "just when you think you've figured them out" deals. Ha!

Otherwise, you can just leave it propped up on the wall where you have it if you want and it should be fine, unless a predator comes along and sucks it dry! Oh, no!

It's amazing when the cats go into a chrysalis, they completely reduce to liquid form before re-forming as a butterfly.

It's a good thing I took that photo of the Question Mark cats when I did because the next day, they were chrysalises! I'll have to get a photo of them, too. They are kind of unique. I've never raised them before so didn't know what to expect. But the chrysalis has white spots on it and looks very much like a dried leaf.

Susan

Well, I had thought about putting it in a container so I wouldn't miss the big event, but I didn't know how and didn't want to hurt the butterfly. Now that I have all your information I may try it so I can get some pictures. I'll make sure the butterfly gets safely on his way! Thanks for the information.

Lynn

Good MOrning Y'all!

Oh, Susan, you flatter me. I think of YOU as the Fearless Gardening Wonder Woman beacause you dare to try new plants and new techniques and you don't let living in the big city stop you from creating a haven/heaven for butterflies, moths and other wildlife on your property!!!!

Lynn,

If you have never watched a butterfly emerge, be sure to give Susan's suggestions a try! When our now 23-year-old son was about 5 years old we bought a butterfly house/hatching kit and raised and released painted ladies. It was so cool and so much fun. We had a blast! You could say it started us down the pathway of loving butterflies and gardening especially for them!

Dawn