On February 25, 2009, a giant swallowtail was spotted sucking nectar from red pentas in Garden 1. The tails of its hind wings were missing, and it was apparent that this individual had done battle with a bird. As it was feeding, flitting from blossom to blossom, the swallowtail hovered like a hummingbird, and it never stopped beating its wings. To stop motion for the photographs on this web page, the speed of the camera was set for 1/2000 th of a second.

The sex of the butterfly is not known, but it is hoped that it was a female and that it chose some of the many wild lime trees in our many gardens, or perhaps the Hercules Club in Garden 8, as targets on which to lay its amber-brown eggs. Giant swallowtail eggs are laid singly on the upper side of host leaves.

If eggs were laid, they will hatch, and tiny caterpillars resembling bird droppings, mottled in brown, yellow, and cream colors will begin eating the leaves of the host plants. Each caterpillar will have a bright orange organ on the top of its head. Called the osmeterium, this organ emits an odor that repels enemies. After time, the caterpillars will pupate, hanging themselves by silken girdle threads from tree branches. Each giant swallowtail chrysalis will look like a piece of wood. Eventually the skin of the chrysalis will crack and an adult will emerge.

 

Adults of this species have the upper surface of their wings predominately chocolate brown with yellow markings, and the bottom surface of their wings predominately yellow with blue, red, and black markings. The thorax and abdomen are yellow.

 

___________________________________

Links:

Index to Butterfly and Moth Visitors to Gardens

Index To Photographs of Plants in the Gardens

Plant Lists by Garden

Conservancy of SW Florida Butterfly Garden Home Page

Conservancy of SW Florida Home Page.

Please report errors to Susan Snyder at ssnyder2@columbus.rr.com