Swallowtail Butterfly - Winter ???!!!

[butterflysweeti_cdn]

Hello, I realize this is a monarch butterfly website, but I have an urgent question.

I have raised many monarch & swallowtail caterpillars in the past 7 years, and have never come accross this:

First off, i live in Ontario Canada, where it is the middle of winter and easily - 10 degrees... freezing.

Well one of my swallowtail caterpillars emereged from his pupa that he was overwintering in... and I am not sure what time feed him?

I have him in a large flight cage & am feeding him watermelon pieces and gaterade.... but does anyone have any information for me?

How long will he live? Any other caretaking instructions? Thanks kindly for your time & help.

[Mona Miller]

In the future, take care to place butterflies/moths that overwinter in a cold place for the winter. I have some in a container on my porch and others in the garage.

Sounds like you are feeding them the best food. Gatorade will help them live longer. Average life span for swallowtails is about 2 weeks.

My zebra swallowtails that emerged one winter lived about 1 1/2 weeks.

For more on feeding, put "feeding" into the search engine above right.

[ilanpro]

Hi, you should feed it with water on a sponge or pick flowers like joe pye weed butterfly bush and purple coneflower, you can buy them at a garden shop, I hope this can help you, good luck!

ILAN B. , 8 years old.