question about swallowtails

[Mona Miller]

I apologize for asking about swallowtails but I could not find the information I needed anywhere on line & think I remember that Mona also raises swallowtails.

A few weeks ago I found a caterpillar on my parsley so I brought it in so that the kids & I could see how a different butterfly compares to the monarch. This afternoon, it finally settled on a spot & is now motionless so I know that it will soon be going into the pupa stage. Anyway, what I failed to think about is that not all butterflies are migratory & that they overwinter in their chrysalis. Of course, I just found out that the black swallowtail is among these. So, what do I do now? Have I goofed up its system by bringing it inside where it is warm (although it has been in the high 80s here the past few days)? Does it just know it is fall & will remain in the pupa until spring? Should I place it in our garage (unheated) or try to place the stick outside? Or is it possible that another generation would still make it through this year? I am in the Southern Tier of NY, near the NY/PA border.

Thank you for any advice you can offer,
Deb

[Mona Miller]

I've raised black swallowtails inside and outside. Some of them figure it out that they need to winter over. But, you will have to put it in the garage eventually. If you kept it inside, it may emerge. Let me tell you a wild story. I gave a friend some black swallowtail pupae. She kept them in a shoe box in her tiny office that was very hot all winter. Then, in spring she hears some thing scratching on the box. The butterfly had emerge and wanted out.

But, most swallowtails will not stay in the chrysalis inside a warm house. Most will emerge if not given cold temperatures.

http://www.raisingbutterflies.org/overw ... echniques/
"1. Pupae and Mature Last Instar Larvae. Keep in container with screen top. Mist spray every 14 days or so during the front end of winter; every 7 days or so on the back end. Adjust according to how immatures respond to humidity in their natural habitat. This group of immatures are LEAST sensitive to dessication and mold."

I raise all the swallowtails: black, tiger, zebra, spicebush, pipevine, and giant.

[dje158]

Thank you - I'll move it down as soon as the pupa is formed (just so we can see the process). Hopefully this will teach me to think before bringing in something new!! I am in denial that summer is all but over!!

Thanks,
Debbie

[Mona Miller]

Like you said though, it might just emerge this fall. This has been a crazy year and so was last year. We hardly had any winter last year and I've been having Monarchs until November. I'm zone 7A.

[blazing star]

I have raised several yellow swallowtails and do as Mona says. Once it goes into chrysalis, I put the container outside on my front porch in a place where snow and rain cannot get inside. I leave it there until Spring when they hatch perfectly. They hatch when the temps are consistently warmer. I have only raised a handful of these, however.

[Mona Miller]

Don't put them into full sun. Do check on the container just in case it emerges earlier than spring. Do make sure it gets a bit of spraying with water that is recommended on the Raising Butterflies website.

[blazing star]

I never sprayed it with water. You're supposed to do this during freezing temps?

[Mona Miller]

I have mine in the garage. I follow this schedule as close as I can on the raising butterflies website. In nature the chrysalis gets snowed on, rained on, hailed on, etc. They produce a chemical that keeps them from freezing during the winter and they are right out there in the thick of it.

[blazing star]

OK. I see what you're saying.

[SammyG]

Yay, I had some of these same questions about my swallowtails. Right now we have all of our windows open, so I have them inside since the temps are the same as outside. I figured when they go into their chrysalises, I'll put their container outside (it is all screen) and keep an eye on them to see if they emerge or decide to spend winter in there!

[blazing star]

I can't keep my container exposed to precipitation as it's all glass, with only a screen top. An all screen container sounds perfect!

[Mona Miller]

Did you note all the different types of containers on Todd Stout's Raising Butterflies site. See above website listing.