Jersey Shore Magazine

j e r s e y s h o r e • S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 59 Christine Menapace before they get ready to form their chrysalis. More than once, I've had to raid a neighbor's garden of dill or pick Queen Anne's lace (also in the carrot family) from a non-pesticide treated field because they'd eaten all the plants I had to offer them. An interesting thing about more mature black swallowtail caterpillars is that if you very gently stroke them, two orange "horns" will sometimes emerge from their head. My daughter (age 11) and I have tried it and some- times it works, sometimes it doesn't. Though some say the horns emit a stinky smell, we didn't notice that. When a caterpillar is getting ready to form a chrysalis, there are several clues to look for. One is you may see an extra large splat of poop at the bottom of the hamper. Sounds gross, but they're emptying their system to get ready for that magical transfor- mation. Another is they will start to wander. If you've left any gap in your hamper, you may have to chase down a caterpillar gone astray. (We have.) Nearly all of my caterpillars have decided to form their chrysalis at the top of the hamper. Unlike monarchs, which hang from their legs, swallow- tails actually spin a thin silk thread (or hammock) in which they rest in a curved shape. When you see them go into this shape, you know they will be a chrysalis soon, which can be brown or green. (Mine have been brown.) After that, it's a waiting game. I've heard monarchs are fairly reli- able, emerging ten to fourteen days later. Not so with swallowtails. They can take a few weeks or even many months to hatch. For this reason, I have never actually witnessed any of my swallowtails emerge. (And I think it's why I will probably raise them again this summer. I'm determined to see this awe-inspiring phenomenon at least once!) Like magic, I've simply found a beautiful butterfly waiting for me to release to the sky. One time, in fact, after several weeks of nothing happening, my daughter and I had essentially given up on a chrys- alis though we still checked it regu- larly. Then one day she came running into the house, excited as ever. The swallowtail had finally emerged! Some Thoughts While raising a few black swallow- tail butterflies has been an incredibly rewarding experience for my daugh- ter, the neighborhood kids, and I, it's not always an easy process. I've had a caterpillar or two drown and more than one chrysalis never emerge. I've wondered if I was interfering too much with a natural process. But then, I've also seen counts of twenty- plus caterpillars unprotected outside be nearly entirely gone the next day, a tasty treat for birds. In fact, accord- ing to one site, only one or two but- terfly eggs out of one hundred live to become adult butterflies. Given this, I was actually having better odds than nature. And I was getting kids excited about science and nature. "Everything has its place," says Traylor, who doesn't raise butter- flies, but knows people who do, and thinks it's a personal decision." A lot of teachers are raising butterflies. The youngsters are hands-on and it's super important. So many kids are removed from nature these days." But she adds, "As long as people under- stand they should raise something native." In other words, don't get a "kit" and release a butterfly that doesn't belong in our ecosystem. As a final note, Traylor recom- mends not being too diligent with fall clean-up this year, instead "leaving the leaves" in your garden, since this is where some butterflies (and other beneficial insects, like preying mantis) will lay eggs for overwintering. For instance, the aforementioned Great Spangled Fritillaries will lay eggs near, but not on, violets in late summer. If you maintain patches of native violets on your property, and leave the leaf litter and wood chips, chances are you will raise the next generation of Great Spangled Fritillaries! u Christine Menapace is a freelance writer and long time contributor to this magazine. She lives in Keyport. Four tiny caterpillars, in an early instar stage, on a piece of dill that is going to seed. Black Eastern Swallowtail Caterpillar on parsley. Peter Aitkin

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