Found some giant swallowtail caterpillars

[gamera154]

So I found some giant swallowtail caterpillars and I'm keeping some in a small enclosure here's a picture there's four in there the smallest just hatched from an egg in the enclosure

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Isn't that cool camouflage? Looking just like bird poop is pure genius.
They will eat just about any citrus leaves.
They have chomped my lime tree into oblivion.

 

[gamera154]

Isn't that cool camouflage? Looking just like bird poop is pure genius.
They will eat just about any citrus leaves.
They have chomped my lime tree into oblivion.

But the adults are so beautiful

 

[wellington]

Don't forget to give updated pics as they go along and morph into beauties.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I didn't realized that they also lived in California.
Here there is a smaller butterfly that otherwise looks very similar but is nearly extinct and lives only in the Florida keys.
The Schaus swallowtail.

 

[Kristoff]

This is really cool!

We have lots of scarce swallowtails and we've raised several from caterpillars.



When the weather gets cooler, I think they can stay inside the chrysalis way until spring! Please do keep us posted!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

It looks a lot like an eastern Tiger swallowtail from the U.S.

 

[gamera154]

So today the second smallest one died it's seems to have died while trying to molt the others are doing fine tho

 

[gamera154]

The biggest one

 

[gamera154]

Transfered the two largest caterpillars to a taller enclosure with some sticks as they are going to be ready to become a chrysalis

 

[gamera154]

 

[gamera154]

One of the largest died a couple of days ago but the other one

 

[gamera154]

Down to one more chrysalis

 

[TheSulcata]

Wow! Cool!

 

[Kristoff]

Down to one more chrysalis View attachment 190634

Welcome to the world, little one! Hope it's still warm enough where you are.