I looked at this thread the other week and realized that I had kind of left it hanging. Zinga and Zestus ended up overwintering in their chrysalides, I believe, and I moved their aquarium to the top of a bookshelf in our family room. One day in the spring I was giving my daughter and spelling test, and she said, “I keep hearing something. It’s almost like fluttering.” I looked up, and there were butterflies in the aquarium. We didn’t take time to take pictures; we just got them outside and let them fly.
This fall we have been raising a bunch more Giant Swallowtails. They were eating on our lemon and satsuma trees, and those trees had such setbacks during our hard freeze this February that I didn’t want them to suffer more defoliation. I brought the caterpillars inside and have been feeding them from trifoliate orange rootstock that I allow to grow for that purpose.
Here are some photos of the most recent one to eclose. I’m always amazed how this type of butterfly looks so different on the bottom and the top.
This fall we have been raising a bunch more Giant Swallowtails. They were eating on our lemon and satsuma trees, and those trees had such setbacks during our hard freeze this February that I didn’t want them to suffer more defoliation. I brought the caterpillars inside and have been feeding them from trifoliate orange rootstock that I allow to grow for that purpose.
Here are some photos of the most recent one to eclose. I’m always amazed how this type of butterfly looks so different on the bottom and the top.
