And then there was...1❓👀

Good Weekend Royal Raiser,

I hope you had a Happy Halloween 👻,

fall has taken hold in Minnesota with no more 60 degree highs and not a butterfly to be seen as we pass Halloween.

I’ve discovered through facebook groups that we weren’t the only ones to have late eastern black swallowtail caterpillars this far north! In fact, someone just posted a photo of a small instar 2-3 caterpillar outside on their parsley….definitely too late for it to reach the chrysalis stage outdoors.

My late-season swallowtail experiment is not faring so well either…

Raising Report 

Last week I reposted that 2 caterpillars were still eating parsley, but even indoors, they were growing at a snail’s pace. 🐌

Last Sunday, the smallest caterpillar died. It started to fall off the parsley stalk, was hanging by a thread, and its body started to harden…like a caterpillar rigor mortis?

I was curious to see if there were any parasites inside the deceased caterpillar…there was not. This also didn’t appear to be a virus since the caterpillar did not turn black and liquify.

A week later, the larger caterpillar seems to have stopped eating and I’m 99% sure it is not going to survive either…

I brought the overwintering cage outside a few days ago to insure that the chrysalides would stay in diapause, with no butterflies emerging until next spring.

I cut back some of the tall parsley stalks before I moved them out, to see if I could find any chrysalides in the foliage. I could not. Then I lifted the container to see if the missing chrysalides were under deck container pot, as I suspected….

THEY WERE NOT. 😱 I literally have no idea where they went. They could be on parsley or oregano foliage, logs/sticks (but I checked those thoroughly), some nook/cranny inside the cage (I also checked that thoroughly), on the outside of the cage, or what would be the worst outcome…they escaped the cage entirely and pupated inside the house, which could mean butterfly guests for Thanksgiving or Christmas.🦋🎄🦋

So this is the ONLY black swallowtail in sight, and he/she’s not talking:

So 1-3 chrysalides have now been wheeled outside to overwinter in freezing temps ⬅️ until they emerge next spring.

I now realize, this was a good idea with BAD implementation. I should have used the Russian nesting doll technique with the indoor cages inside of the outdoor one so I couldn’t lose caterpillars in the extra large raised bed habitat…

Outdoor Raising Setup

Unlike Monarchs, swallowtails are serious about hiding their chrysalides, so I literally have no idea where they are inside this massive enclosure except for the one that hid in plain sight, pictured above.

My guess was the ‘missing chrysalides’ were under their deck railing container, which easily has enough space for them to eclose and dry their wings next spring.

Sadly, these adventurous caterpillars had other plans, and now I’m not sure what their future holds…

This would have been much simpler if I put them in one or two indoor mesh cages and placed those inside the outdoor enclosure like this:

Check out the video at the bottom of this page to see where we overwinter them (this only pertains to swallowtails, as monarchs don’t overwinter) to keep them safe from extreme weather:

How to Raise Butterflies Outdoors ⬅️

So the lesson here is that we ALL make mistakes. That doesn’t mean you should give up. It DOES mean you should assess your process to see if there is anything you do differently to give your growing butterflies a better outcome next time…and that’s what I’m doing after raising this late batch of eastern black swallowtails ⬅️.

It’s too late for most to utilize this outdoor setup in 2025, but this could make an amazing holiday butterfly gift for 2026! 🎁🎄

And speaking of the holiday season, see what’s coming your way..next week!🤶

Coming Soon?

Can you believe, the 2025 holiday season is just around the corner? 🦃🕎🎄

That means it’s time for Twelve Days of Butterflies, where we unveil 12 unique butterfly gifts that will make a butterfly lover’s heart flutter 🦋🎁😍

Until Next Time,

Tony your Butterfly Guide