I found this chrysalis attached to the wall outside my garage door. I’ve been checking it every time I’ve gone in or out and when I took these pictures, I thought it was nearing time for the adult butterfly to emerge. A close look reveals patterns and colors of the soon to exit butterfly.
The shape and the silk thread acting as a safety harness tell me this is a swallowtail and the vertical orientation is the standard position of a Black Swallowtail. The process of pupation in this species is really an interesting process and a bit dangerous for the butterfly. In this case, the larva created a silk pad on the wall and then moved up so its hind prolegs were on the pad. Once secured to the pad, it produced a strand of silk that circled its body and attached to the wall. After a period of rest, it began to shed its skin. The wriggling motion that moved the skin down the body also caused projections on the side of the chrysalis to catch on the silk strand. The final act was the tail end casting aside the shed skin and anchoring itself to the silk pad. Failure to properly attach to the silk harness could cause the chrysalis to miss attaching to the silken pad and cause problems in development and emergence.
I was away for about two hours and when I returned, the butterfly was gone. Nothing left by a shell.
I didn’t have to look far for the newly emerged adult. I found it at the base of the wall, sitting on a plant tray that someone hasn’t yet put away. There’s nothing more perfect looking than a freshly emerged butterfly. This is a female Black Swallowtail.
She didn’t stay around for very long. After a few minutes she took wing and headed out across the field. She doesn’t have any time to waste. Black Swallowtails overwinter in the chrysalis form, so she has to mate and lay eggs and the larvae have to grow to form a chrysalis before cold weather sets in. I hope her kids pick a more secure place to spend the winter than on the side of a house.
I found this chrysalis attached to the wall outside my garage door. I’ve been checking it every time I’ve gone in or out and when I took these pictures, I thought it was nearing time for the adult butterfly to emerge. A close look reveals patterns and colors of the soon to exit butterfly.
The shape and the silk thread acting as a safety harness tell me this is a swallowtail and the vertical orientation is the standard position of a Black Swallowtail. The process of pupation in this species is really an interesting process and a bit dangerous for the butterfly. In this case, the larva created a silk pad on the wall and then moved up so its hind prolegs were on the pad. Once secured to the pad, it produced a strand of silk that circled its body and attached to the wall. After a period of rest, it began to shed its skin. The wriggling motion that moved the skin down the body also caused projections on the side of the chrysalis to catch on the silk strand. The final act was the tail end casting aside the shed skin and anchoring itself to the silk pad. Failure to properly attach to the silk harness could cause the chrysalis to miss attaching to the silken pad and cause problems in development and emergence.
I was away for about two hours and when I returned, the butterfly was gone. Nothing left by a shell.
I didn’t have to look far for the newly emerged adult. I found it at the base of the wall, sitting on a plant tray that someone hasn’t yet put away. There’s nothing more perfect looking than a freshly emerged butterfly. This is a female Black Swallowtail.
She didn’t stay around for very long. After a few minutes she took wing and headed out across the field. She doesn’t have any time to waste. Black Swallowtails overwinter in the chrysalis form, so she has to mate and lay eggs and the larvae have to grow to form a chrysalis before cold weather sets in. I hope her kids pick a more secure place to spend the winter than on the side of a house.
