Raising Black Swallowtail Caterpillars

Black Swallowtails can be found throughout Eastern North America. They are mostly black, with some blue and orange markings on their wings. One summer, we found a Black Swallowtail caterpillar in our garden, so I took it in, and raised it for fun.

At first, we thought it was a Monarch caterpillar, because the markings were so similar. They both are green with black, yellow, and white markings, but the Monarch caterpillars are found on Milkweed plants. We found the Black Swallowtail caterpillar on a dill plant.

I kept the black Swallowtail caterpillar in a glass jar, sticks, and some dill plants. I kept some plastic wrap on the top, with holes in it so the caterpillar could breath. The sticks were so the caterpillar had something to hang on when it became a chrysalis. I cared for the little caterpillar, loved him, and called him Norbert.

At first, I kept a little container of water in the jar at first, because I didn’t know how he would drink it. Later, I took the container out, because I realized he got all the water he needed from the plants he ate, so I made sure to refresh his food every other day. I also cleaned out the jar every once in a while, rinsing the jar, and taking old dill out of the container.

one morning, I woke up, and checked on Norbert like I always did, and He had formed his chrysalis. Black Swallowtail caterpillars don’t hang upside down. They hang sideways. Norbert’s chrysalis was light brown, with some dark brown on the sides. On the day he emerged from the chrysalis, I could tell he was going to emerge soon, because the chrysalis had become clear, and I could see the markings on

After he emerged, and dried his wings, I let him go were I found him. He soared out of the container, and into the air. I watched him until I couldn’t see him anymore. His lifespan after that, was twelve days. Unless he had been eaten, but I won’t think about that.

Norbert wasn’t the only butterfly that I raised that summer. Later, we ifound eleven caterpillars of all stages, in our freshly picked dill at dinner one night. I took them all in. The smallest were still tiny black larva, that hadn’t changed color yet. I found them, by zooming in on them with a phone. They were so tiny!

Having so many caterpillars put a shortage on the dill, so I fed them some Queen Anne’s Lace, and parsley. Most of the caterpillars made it to adult hood. Three of them died from a sickness called the baculovirus. It basically kills them, and their body starts liquifying. The virus spreads from one caterpillar to another, by being eaten, or transmitted by human hands, or whatever surface the caterpillar climbs on.

The rest of the caterpillars survived. Most of the chrysalises were shades of brown, but I had one green crystalis. That can happen every once in a while. As it neared the end of the summer, the youngest caterpillar stayed black. They do this because the days are getting shorter and colder, and the caterpillar then forms it’s chrysalis sooner.

I had one male butterfly. I could tell he was a male because he was much smaller than the females. I also realized Norbert has been a girl all along, and changed her name to Norberta. Black Swallowtail Butterflies are so pretty, I hope you learned something new.

I had lots of fun with the caterpillars, and the experience taught me a lot about caterpillars and butterflies. Thank you for reading my post. For more posts on animals, go to virginianelsonart.com, and you can also check out my art. Please comment on my post. The information will be helpful. Thank you.