Thursday, May 9, 2024

Raising Black Swallowtail Butterflies

At the end of last summer and into the fall, I had 11 chrysalis in the butterfly cage.
That meant those chrysalis would spend the winter in that form and emerge in the spring,
usually early May.
The hubs and I check the cage every day and like clockwork, the first 2 butterflies emerged on April 28th.
The first one came out slowly, 
rested on my shirt for a minute or so and then flew gently away.
Another came later in the day, could not wait for it's freedom flight, it took off immediately, so no pictures.
Another came on May 6th and the next on the 7th, so far, I have released 4.

These releases are bitter/sweet...

This is a Black Swallowtail Butterfly...


all of these are boys.


If you have any interest in raising these butterflies there is some great information here, at

13 comments:

The Furry Gnome said...

I've always enjoyed, and been impressed by your butterfly nursery! You do an amazing job with these!

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...

What a blessing to have such a beautiful experience! Spectacular butterflies. Good work!

R's Rue said...

They’re so pretty.

eileeninmd said...

Wow, you do a great job raising the butterflies.
They are so pretty, lovely photos.
Take care, have a great day!

Jim and Barb's Adventures said...

Those are beauties, you should be proud parents!

Jim and Barb's Adventures said...

Thanks for the note on Blog2Print, I was just writing about that today for Saturday's blog.
We ordered one last week when it was 50% off.

Susie said...

Debbie, Bless your heart for helping the butterflies. We all love them. I get excited to your newest ones. Thank you for sharing your joy with all. Blessings, xoxo, Susie

acorn hollow said...

So interesting! they are beautiful
Cathy

Soma @ InkTorrents.com said...

They are beautiful. I can see the releases being bitter-sweet for you.

-Soma

Breathtaking said...

Hello Debbie :)
What good work you do in raising these beautiful butterflies.Beautiful closeup photos Debbie. Well done!

Leanne Coppola said...

You and Liz do such a great job raising these beautiful butterflies!

Anonymous said...

Debbie, you do an amazing job raising the butterflies, and your photographs are beautiful.

All the best Jan
https://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.com/

Conniecrafter said...

How sweet of the one to land on you, probably saying thank you. Beautiful among the flowers too!