Florida Nature Pictures
Butterflies

Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly Life Cycle
Papilio polyxenes

This is the first instar caterpillar of the Black Swallowtail Butterfly.
I found them munching on my Parsley plant in South Florida.
Caterpillars feed on plants in the carrot family. This may include dill, fennel, parsley, or carrots.

These are later instar caterpillars.
The one on the right has just molted or shed its skin and still looks rather whiteish.

These are full grown caterpillars. They get about 2 - 2.5 inches long.
My parsley plant is all but gone now.

I brought them indoors to pupate. After finding a nice spot, they make a girdle out of silk strand to hang from.
They can stay in this J form about 24 hours.

They wiggle off the caterpillar skin to expose the pupa underneath.
At first it is soft and mushy.

Soon it hardens and darkens.
The pupal stage lasts about 9-10 days.

Here is the Black Swallowtail butterfly after just emerging from the pupa.
The wings are pumped with fluid and begin to dry.

This one is a male.

This one is a female.

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