Black Swallowtail...
since the grandsons are so close by now I decided to raise a few swallowtails 23 to be exact and let them in on the cycle of life...out of 23 ...20 emerged...and an endless supply of parsley in the flower boxes on the back porch and keeping an eye on them as they grew fatter and fatter, hoping the lizards didn't have them for supper..mercy my parsley was chewed down to nubs! BUT...once we added the sticks for the cocoons to hang off of we added them to a large mesh tent and left them in a quiet undisturbed location... we were blessed with four of them about 11 days days later and so it continued over the next five days...the one pictured is literally about one hour old ....as they emerged and slowly got the blood pumped into their wings some time later I gently put my hand in and brought them out onto the flowers...in another hour or so they slowly started fluttering around the garden...life the ever evolving cycle ...all retuned back to where it all began...in the garden...
Black Swallowtail...
since the grandsons are so close by now I decided to raise a few swallowtails 23 to be exact and let them in on the cycle of life...out of 23 ...20 emerged...and an endless supply of parsley in the flower boxes on the back porch and keeping an eye on them as they grew fatter and fatter, hoping the lizards didn't have them for supper..mercy my parsley was chewed down to nubs! BUT...once we added the sticks for the cocoons to hang off of we added them to a large mesh tent and left them in a quiet undisturbed location... we were blessed with four of them about 11 days days later and so it continued over the next five days...the one pictured is literally about one hour old ....as they emerged and slowly got the blood pumped into their wings some time later I gently put my hand in and brought them out onto the flowers...in another hour or so they slowly started fluttering around the garden...life the ever evolving cycle ...all retuned back to where it all began...in the garden...