Today is an exciting day – the Black Swallowtail caterpillar that has been munching on Queen Anne’s Lace in our lobby for the last several days is pupating! The caterpillar went on a walkabout of the room overnight before finding just the right spot to pupate, so we had a caterpillar treasure hunt to find it this morning. After locating it we created a special Do Not Disturb zone and set up a camera to take a photo every 5 minutes. Right now the caterpillar is still in its pre-pupation hammock position, so stay tuned for the pupation time lapse and chrysalis photos!
Black Swallowtail caterpillars feed on plants in the Apiaceae, or carrot, family such as dill, parsley, fennel, and like ours, Queen Anne’s lace. They go through five stages, or instars, before pupating and it is common for them to wander a significant distance from the plant they were feeding on to find a spot to pupate. Once they find the right spot they spin a silk thread and attach themselves to the surface in the hammock position. From there it can take up to 24 hours for them to shed their caterpillar skin and become a chrysalis, and then another 10 or more days to emerge as a butterfly. We’ll keep you posted on this one’s progress!
Original source can be found here.
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