🖤 Swallowtail CHRYSALIDES- 3 and Counting 🌿🐛

Happy Saturday Royal Raiser,

it has been cool and quiet outside and I haven’t seen a monarch or hummingbird flutter by in more than a week.

My hope is, the 13 monarchs we released have joined their migration generation brothers and sisters, perhaps at this bountiful 🦋 garden in Kansas:

There’s still nectar in the garden for serious stragglers, but I’d be shocked to see any more migrators as we flirt with frosty (again) next week. ☃

Meanwhile, the swallowtail caterpillars continue to grow, but…

Raising Report 

I can say with almost 100% certainty these 5 swallowtails would not have survived without our help because:

• wasps would have likely eaten all of them in early October (there were at least 10 caterpillars when I first saw them)

• at least 2 would have succumbed to cold temps before forming their chrysalides…I think. It would have been a close call 🌿🐛🥶

2 swallowtails remain feasting on parsley while 3 have already started their journey to find the perfect pupation spot inside their large overwintering habitat.

I rolled their outdoor enclosure into the kitchen again last week to prevent the life cycle slow down that accompanies close-to-freezing temps.

I brought them outside again Thursday, but will them back inside today as the north winds blow in more crisp Canadian air.

They will be inside until the final caterpillar pupates…which should be this coming week.

Then, they will be rolled back outside to spend the entire winter in freezing temps until they emerge next spring.

I do love this set up, but there is one change I will probably make raising forward (with swallowtails)…

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 ones that hide in plain sight, like the one pictured above.

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

If butterflies eclose under the container, there will be sticks on the cage floor so they can crawl up to dry their wings in the sun next spring.

However, trying to find 5 chrysalides in here might be quite the adventure…this would be much simpler if I put them in one or two indoor mesh cages and placed those inside the outdoor enclosure like this:

For more info on this evolving outdoor set up, check out:

How to Raise Butterflies Outdoors ⬅️

It might be late to utilize this set up in 2025, but this could make an amazing holiday butterfly gift for 2026! 🎁🎄

Please join 75 other community members and post your Raise the Migration 2025 results and lessons learned raising forward…

Raise The Migration 2025- Share Your Experience! ✍️

This is an opportunity to post what you've learned this season, what raising challenges you faced, and anything new you'll be doing to improve your raising process in 2026.

You can fill out the comment box at the bottom of the linked page below.

Please do not post questions in the comment box as blog comments are not a good platform for ongoing discussions. This is specifically to share your 2025 raising experience including any helpful tips you think will benefit others in the community. Thanks in advance for sharing! 😊

You can share your experience here:

Share YOUR 2025 Raising Results and Experience ⬅️ (scroll down below the last comment to post your experience)

Coming Soon?

After the swallowtails have all formed their chrysalides, see their outdoor resting place for the winter season and learn why we chose this spot for their winter wellbeing. 🌿🐛💡

Blue Skies and Migrating Butterflies,

Tony your Butterfly Guide