This morning's garden surprise

@Riccur ...Yes, i know how hard it can be, even to take a few minutes a day but people who do are richly rewarded. When i first started my butterfly garden, there was nothing in the areas available for planting...not a weed...no soil...some dust...lots of rocks (big ones). A neighbor was curious about what i was doing and would frequently stop by to see. The garden area is in the back of the house and not readily available for people to observe. I had told her that i wanted to create a garden for butterflies; that i wanted to make the best B&B for butterflies for kilometers around. I wanted all the butterflies to come and enjoy the garden; i wanted a 5 star B&B. I think i started work in the month of February. In April or May, my neighbor stopped by and i was busy at work and she was sitting at the patio table. She said to me "Well, it looks like you have achieved your dream". "What do you mean?", i said standing up (bumping into a few butterflies in the process). And i looked around and there were butterflies everywhere in the garden and if my neighbor had not come to visit, I never would have known. So now, i am your neighbor and i am here to suggest that you take a look around and see the beauty there. It doesn't have to be a butterfly garden, it can be full of vegetables, or herbs, or whatever. If it is a garden there will be special things to see that will fill your heart with gladness and it doesn't need to take a lot of time. A few minutes here or there, in the evening after the work is done. Of course gardens are never really "done" but we do achieve certain milestones, i think.

 

vitsrna-- What a lovely posting! I have to remind myself regularly to enjoy/appreciate what I have, be it my garden, my family, my life.

Just yesterday, I was busy with spring clean up chores, feeling a bit overwhelmed when my mind slipped to our nephew who will be visiting thus summer. I pictured his family enjoying the garden, the pool, etc & it made me look again at the yard. Even still a mess from winter, it is a pretty place.

 

Eileen, there is a name for this condition amongst butterfly gardeners. It is called "butterfly envy". A butterfly gardener in Texas once told me how much she envied my butterflies and i replied to her that i envied the butterflies the people in Costa Rica have that i don't get to see, and i also envy some of the butterflies people on the east coast of the US have that do not range this far south, and so it goes. Don't be alarmed, it is a common condition. I'll work on putting together some photos.

 

Here is an update on the lone Giant Swallowtail caterpillar (aka Cutie Pie). This morning revealed a tiny wasp perched on the caterpillar's bum. These are parasitic wasps wanting a good chubby food source for their larvae. There were no signs that the caterpillar had been injected, but certainly it had been found. The caterpillar is now about 2.5" (6cm). I brushed off the wasp, but it returned immediately so i cut the branch, stuck it in a seed pot already filled with soil, and hurried it into the house. The wasp did not come with us. This big boy still has some growing and eating to do before it is ready to pupate, but i have plenty of food. Next stops pupa, chrysalis, waiting, butterfly. At no time did this caterpillar show that it was bothered by this morning's activities. You know when Swallowtail caterpillars are upset or feel threatened because they show their Osmeteria which are two yellow to red fleshy, foul-smelling glands that emerge from the top of the head. This is one serene caterpillar. I will keep it in the house until it makes a chrysalis. They are very vulnerable to predators when they pupate. But i never have the butterflies i assist in this way emerge in a cage inside. I relocate them outside so they are always "born free", as they say, in a natural setting.

 

I am pretty sure the caterpillar is safe, of course with caterpillars there is always the chance of genetically transferred internal parasites, but those caterpillars are generally agitated and this caterpillar is completely serene...so your tum can relax. It is sleeping like the baby it is. Big election for you folks today, yes? Or maybe it is over already because of the time change. I guess i'll check the news.

 

I am learning quite a bit from you Vitrsna

 

Frank...I have some older photos of bflies emerging from chrysalises. I'll take a look. The process lends itself better to video which i don't do, but plenty of other people have done on utube. I looked for a good one so that i could post the link here, but i didn't really find a good one. Many folks use time lapse. Emerging is a process that can take at least 1/2 hour for the larger bflies and time lapse gives the false impression that the process is quick and easy, but it is not. There are some "real time" video eclosures but they mostly don't show the entire process. Either way, people who have not seen an eclosure before are left with false impressions. Just because a bfly is out of the chrysalis doesn't mean it is "good to go". When the mid-sized to larger bflies eclose, it is generally slow and belabored. When they finally emerge from the chrysalis, they have tiny crumpled up wings and a great big abdomen. Their lives depend on holding on and not falling to the ground. If they fall to the ground they will die unless there is something near by (like a finger, or plant stem) they can climb up on and hang upside down from. The abdomen is enormous because it contains waste products from activities in the chrysalis (which are eliminated) and fluid that will run into the veins of the wings to make them strong enough for flight. But, the bfly must get a good strong grasp on something (often the empty chrysalis) and hold on long enough for the wings to become flyable. The warmer the air temps, the faster the process. I've seen Monarchs emerge that have taken an hour or two before they flew. It is not hard to capture images. Most bflies emerge in my garden about 9:30am. This is when there is lots of sun and warmer air temps. Also, many types of chrysalises show signs that the bfly will eclose in maybe 3-5 minutes, or next day, say. I like to be on hand as a somewhat distant bystander in case the bflies fall to the ground.

Cayuga and Eileen...the caterpillar known as "Cutie Pie", started to pupate this evening much to my surprise. The first sign was a mucky puddle of green caterpillar diarreha on the coffee table. They do purge when they are ready to set off on their adventure to find exactly the right place to make a chrysalis. God only knows where i will find it in the morning but i refuse to put him in a cage and am willing to take the consequences. Bringing caterpillars into the house is something i do on rare occasion, but this one was good as dead if i hadn't. More often i'll set them up on the patio table. The coffee table has a glass top so it cleaned up nicely. To be continued...

 

Overnight the GS caterpillar transformed into a pupa. I am grateful it chose the stick i provided to attach itself to. It wandered around for most of the evening looking for just the right spot, guided by DNA. Now that it is attached to the stick, as opposed to a sofa, or table, or wall, i won't have to relocate the chrysalis. I'll just take the chrysalis on the stick outside when the time comes prior to the eclosure. Here is a photo of "Cutie Pie" now. Note at the tail end you can see where it is attached with silk and gooey spit. Also at the top end you can see the silky thread is attached to the stick in the same way. There are two silk threads one on each side of its head. Note that the thread goes around the body to keep it in place. It will change the position of the head, and then proceed to make the chrysalis probably tomorrow and the next day.

 

During Saturday night, the little pupa above transformed into the chrysalis you see below. Chrysalises come in all different designs, shapes, and sizes. The Giant Swallowtail caterpillar creates a chrysalis that is designed to look like an old, dead, broken off twig. The photo below is of a fairly new chrysalis. During the next day or 2 the chrysalis will transform to look more like an old, dead, broken off twig and the outside layer will become thicker and tougher. During the process of making the chrysalis, the caterpillar will have one last skin molt which will fall out of the top of the chrysalis (photo below). The brown shiny part of the molt was the protective head covering and the skin, that comes off accordion-style, is attached to the discarded head covering. And you see the upper body has changed position. Even when the chrysalis is mature and hardened, the pupa is still not safe from predators, but it is more safe than it ever has been or will be as a butterfly. I will keep this little guy in the house for 8 days after which i will put it outside on the patio when i leave the house for more than an hour or two. I think the earliest it will emerge will be 9 days, but they can surprise you. I suspect it will more likely emerge in 10-12 days. The butterfly will emerge from the end of the broken stem-looking part of the chrysalis (some butterflies come out the bottom, some out the sides. some from the top). When the butterfly is ready to emerge, the chrysalis becomes very thin and often wing patterns can be seen, giving a clue. Giant Swallowtail butterflies are often prone to diapause, which is an extended period in the chrysalis and potentially could be in the chrysalis for as long as 9 months, maybe more. Diapause is determined by DNA and not environmental factors and the purpose is to assure the survival of the species. In short, the butterfly could emerge as soon as 8 days and as late as 9 months or more.

 

Vitrsna--what some wonderful info and pic's of those beautiful Swallow tails. We have them show up here in Wisconsin during the summer. Thank you for taking such good care of those little baby butterflies. I plant Dill as I believe swallow tail babies really like that. What a blessing to see them emerge into such beauties.

 

Hi Tooty! I'm glad you found me. I didn't know the Giant Swallowtails got that far north, this is good to hear. I know you are in the range but i don't know if they show up there. I'll tell this one to go straight to Denmark, Wis...it owes me big time. Are these common where you are? Or do you mostly have the gorgeous black swallowtails? Or Tiger Swallowstails, or what other kind of Swallowtails might you find in your garden? I'd be really interested to know. I think the Black Swallowtails really do like the Dill but in my location, i've only seen the Giant Swallowtails use Rue, citrus trees, and Choisya ternata (seems to be the preference) as host (all the Rutaceaes). But i know they will use different nectar plants and different host plants in different parts of the world. Do you get Swallowtail caterpillars that make chrysalises that over-winter and come out in Spring or Summer? Gee, i'm happy to meet you because i know what happens in the south but i don't know what happens in the north. So when you get some in your garden i hope you will make a thread that will give me some insight into what goes on in the northern climes. Then i will have a more balanced picture. So far this year this is the only swallowtail i've seen so i'm not really getting a good herd this year. Last year i had them in the garden and had 4 generations that did very well and didn't have much problem with predators. Normally they are fairly abundant here, but not this year. Cold snap in February and erupting volcano may have something to do with it. If you have any questions, don't be shy to ask, okay?

 

O happy day! The Giant Swallowtail butterfly (fka "Cutie Pie, the caterpillar) eclosed today after 12 days in the chrysalis. I moved him (yes, it's a boy!) outside to the patio table as soon as he got a firm grasp on things. Healthy and apparently with all
his parts. A baby no more, but a fully grown adult male butterfly with wings not yet strong enough to fly:

holding on to the empty chrysalis

You can just see the pincers at the bottom of the thorax which males use to hold on to the female during mating. He will fly with her also.

Whoops, photos sent in order but somehow are not in order. This image below is after the first flight. He landed in the midst of some germinating things and was having difficulty getting out. I offered a finger and held him up high. He flew again and landed high in the Senecio vine.

Here he is after landing in the Senecio. A successful flight and landing


He is very nearly ready to try out his wings. I have moved him from the top of the table to the bench to offer him more protection from potential predators until he is ready to fly. He appears to be very nearly ready.