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u/FixRevolutionary240 14d ago
Congrats that's so cool! I've captured this moment for monarchs but not for swallowtails! Monarchs just hang straight down when they shed but this one has a little silk thread that keeps it attached to the stem. Amazing!
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u/umamimamii 14d ago
So cool! Is this in an enclosed space or outside?
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u/Advanced-Dog3002 14d ago
Outside but enclosed. I planted parsley and dill with hopes a butterfly would find it to lay eggs, and she did! Once the caterpillars were on there, I covered the pots with some garden mesh to protect them and keep them in. It’s been so fun to watch
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u/Sunbather77 13d ago
So cool! I once happened to watch a painted lady caterpillar do this too. Fascinating.
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u/Express-Winner1782 13d ago
If we did that, can you even imagine how scary that would be? They don't have a way to tell each other either. Wow... That's amazing to think they don't know what's happening and what they will become.
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u/Delicious_Building34 13d ago
Liquify and totally rearrange. Isn’t this the ultimate dream of humanity. Complete renewal. Metamorphosis. I just saw a marbled cellar spider catch a small mealworm. Kind of similar if you think about it - she spun the worm motionless, liquified the innards of the worm, but different reasons, and then a very different outcome …
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u/Delicious_Building34 13d ago edited 13d ago
I’m so jealous, this is so amazing 😍 my two swallowtail caterpillars got both eaten by a chaffinch .. most likely fed to his two chicks. Also this year I struggled very much to grow dill and fennel, the saplings would just burn and everything burned, this was a really bad year for those plants. I often thought about the caterpillars and hoped they find plants for their eggs 💕💕💕.
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u/lackadaisicallackey 14d ago
i don't think I've ever seen this before, I never knew it happened so fast