My Zebra Swallowtail Thread

Hello everyone! I didn't want to hog the daily thread so I figured I would just start my own. If you've been following that thread, you know I've been catnapping ZST cats and raising them. Well, my first one eclosed yesterday! I'm going to use some of my older pictures to walk you through the stages - maybe you'll learn something!

This is the pawpaw that grows in my area. It's asimina reticulata according to my Parks and Rec connections (I work for the county). Most pawpaws are big trees (asimina triloba) that have banana-like fruit; in facty, my grandma has a few in her yard in West Virginia. But it's too hot in my part of Florida. Instead, we have about six different asimina varieties that are endemic to the state. They all look like shrubby bushes, and I've yet to see one much taller than 5 feet. ZST only lay their eggs on asimina species. They nearly always lay it on the new growth so it gets easy to find caterpillars - once you know what to look for.

Once the butterflies find each other, they lay eggs, LOL!

The eggs are light green when first laid, but they change color. Eventually they end up a dark grey.

Then the little cats come out and start eating. They are "humpbacked" right from the start.

They eat and they get bigger.

Eventually, they earn their stripes, lol! Note the greyish egg in the picture.

Some of them take on a brownish hue. Oh, and they poo just as much as they eat.

Mostly, they're green with pretty blue and yellow stripes.

They get bigger and molt (shed their skin) so they can continue growing.

Eventually, they settle down and find a place they like. Then, they make a massive poo and rid their bodies of any toxins (no pictures of that, thankfully). I noticed that after that, their head was more transparent.

Oh, I forgot to mention in the previous picture that stuff on the ground is what was left when another cat made his chrysalis.

After they poo, they wander around a little more until they find a comfy spot. Then, they hang out for about two days. At some point they will make a sling. Here's a pic of a cat I accidentally moved, not realizing all that webbing was attached to the stuff I was touching. This little guy didn't make it, but here he can demonstrate for us what the sling looks like, and that even if you can't see it, they sometimes have a lot of silk attaching them from head to toe to their preferred surface.

So I put cheesecloth under the lid to keep the little ones from escaping (Mom had to rescue one). However, one of my cats decided that it was nice and soft, and good for making a chrysalis. Unfortunately, when I moved him his booty came loose. He had a little something sticking out (which I found out later was his outer skin) so I used scotch tape to attach him until I got home from work. Last night I was about to go to bed which apparently is prime time for the cats to go into their chrysalis. I ran out and Mom and I watched. I didn't think to take pics until it was over with because I was so excited about seeing it for the first time. They split at the head, and then they wriggle free. It was so weird because we could see his stripes sliding down his body. When he was done, his old skin and head were stuck to the tape, but he was free. Since this guy isn't attached, I let him lay on the cheesecloth until he was done, then I cut that piece out and put him in his own container (he's so spoiled!). You can see his sling and you can still see that he's a caterpillar in there!

Depending on what part of the plant they're on, the chrysalis can be green or brown. If the area is smooth, they think it's a younger part of the plant and so they "dress up" like a green leaf. If the area is rough, they assume it's an old part of the plant and dress accordingly as an older, brown leaf.

Here's a brown chrysalis. This guy is up next - should eclose in a few more days! This is the one that I thought would never stop eating - I was so happy when he pupated.

Mom and I noticed that the chrysalis had what looked like a dark seam down the middle of it (the part against the cage). The next day, it had spread. The chrysalis grew darker all day long until finally, I could see a butterfly inside! It's almost like the chrysalis gets thinner. I touched it midway through and it was hard, but right before it eclosed it was much softer. Here's a pic of the topside of the chrysalis about mid-morning.

This message was edited Oct 28, 2007 1:15 PM

That is the same bright green chrysalis as in the earlier photo! By lunchtime, it was even darker.

Fromt he front, I could see his face! I didn't want to open the lid so the picture is taken through plastic and silk, but hopefully you can see. The "seam" down the middle ended up being his proboscis! You can also see his two eyes at the top on either side of the white spot.. At the bottom is his body, and his wings are wrapped around him like a blanket.

From the side you can see the red in him.

He came out when I was in a meeting and I totally missed it. He was just standing there looking at me. His wings were all wrinkled up and it looked so scary. He started walking all over the cage, dragging his wings with him, and I thought that was odd. But eventually, he found a place he liked and hung there. Slowly, I could see his wings straightening out.

He didn't spread his wings until I got into my car. I figured he would like it because it was so warm from being in the sun all day. Sure enough, when I was at a red light I snuck a peek and he was all spread out. I didn't take the pic until I got home though! No multi-tasking while driving!

Forgot to say that you can see the chrysalis he came out of in the background of this pic.

This message was edited Oct 17, 2007 6:54 PM

This one is kind of blurry, but look how long the tails are! It surprised me. I see enough of them in the wild I thought I knew everything, but this one really impressed me.

I took the guy outside and let him go. At first, I thought I better return him where I found him. I want them to be able to mate and have host plants (I have pawpaw seedlings, not enough to support a cat). I'd say the spot where I found them is about 3-5 miles as the butterfly flies. But then I remembered another preserve closer to me where I've also seen ZSTs. Then, there's two other preserves less than a mile from me that I haven't fully explored. So I figure my house is really in the middle of two known territories, possibly more. Maybe I can bridge the gap?

The first order of business was warming up. He was ready to go, flew around a bit, and then settled on the roof with wings spread wide.

Finally, he put his wings together and flew away. Good news though - he was spotted by Mom today near the side of the house. She honestly looked at me and asked if there was enough food for him. After I gave her my "are you stupid?" look, I assured her that between the plumbago, porterweed, lantana, and blanket flowers, he would find something on the buffet that he liked.

That's it! Hope you enjoyed my story. I still have more in their chrysalis and more cats so this isn't the end. And when my pawpaws grow up, I hope to see my ZSTs as regular visitors.

Melanie

Very nice pics and narrative Mellie! She sure is a beauty!

That was a really nice "Life of a ZST" in a nutshell. Your pictures are really great, thanks for sharing them.
Cathy

Good job, Melanie. : )

That one picture looked like a hang glider fixing to launch off a cliff. lol Too cute. : )

~Lucy

Melanie,
Where can a guy get some of those Paw Paw?

Thanks everyone, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Hang glider, hee hee! I suppose we humans did model a lot of our flying devices on things that can actually fly. Nothing seems to do those crazy circles and loops quite like butterflies, though.

Well, www.mailordernatives.com sells asimina parviflora. Also, the Rare Fruit Council club in Tampa has asimina triloba and asimina parviflora (they were at the USF plant festival). The one I see in the wild is asimina reticulata. I ordered three a. parviflora from Mail Order Natives; check out their DG Watchdog rating, they're great. I've only ever seen the a. reticulata in a nature preserve, and of course we all know that all plants, animals, and minerals in a preserve are protected by law. That being said, I managed to come by some seeds and I have about 6 or 7 seedlings right now. I'm hoping to get some more seeds next year. They flower around February and then the fruit sets so I think I got my seeds in late spring? But the a. parviflora is pretty similar in that it is a small, shrubby plant and the ZSTs will eat it. Oh, and they love full sun and dry Florida sand - you gotta love that!

Melanie,
I'm so glad/jealous that you've had success with pawPaw. Ugh! I've bought at least 5 and they've all died. They hate to be disturbed and planting them can be a nightmare. The taproots on the ones that I've gotten have been 3 to 4 feet long! Man O Man!! Were you finding the eggs in the wild and then bring them home to raise or did they lay on your existing plants? Either way...thanks for the pictures-they're fantastic!

Adrienne

Adrienne,
I'm bringing 'em home (eggs and cats) and boy are there lots out there! I brought about 12 cats home today. I guess you have to hit them at the right time of year? And now that I know what I'm looking for I'm much better at spotting them. I've got my pawpaw seedlings going and I bought those three a. parviflora but they're not big enough yet so I go out and pick leaves once a week or so. I know what you mean about those taproots. I had to plant those seedlings really fast. They would have maybe three or four leaves and their root would already be six inches long and growing out of the pot! Mine transplanted pretty well and they're growing right along. If I try again I'll just direct sow them.
Melanie

Yea! How wonderful and cool that is!! Your pictures are great!!

Adrienne

Great Thread Mellie. Congrats on your success

Wonderful thread Mellie. I have learned so much and the pics were great...thanks!

Melanie, your story of raising your ZST was so enjoyable. I bought two Asimina triloba, the Common Pawpaw earlier this year in hopes of seeing them in my yard. Your pictures of the cats helped me realize the differences in appearance they take during the various instar stages.

More stories, please! You could write a butterfly book!

Deborah

Wow everyone, thanks so much! I have to eat dinner and then I'm off to the bookstore, but here's the second one to emerge. Mom got to watch this one and she even managed to safely transfer it from the critter keeper into the butterfly house. We're keeping him in the bf house overnight because it has rained all day and cooled off. The only potted flower I have right now is Mom's cattleya orchid, so I put that in there. I also picked some blanket flower blooms for good measure and tucked them in with the orchid. I picked up the butterfly (using the same technique that guy on Animal Planet used when he was chasing the birdwing butterfly) and try to set him on it but he wasn't interested yet. At least he has a safe place to stay for the night!

edited for my typos

This message was edited Oct 24, 2007 6:27 PM

Ok, I had one go into his chrysalis the other day and while Mom and I were watching it occurred to me that my camera was right next to me. So I tried to get some shots of the process. You can tell they're starting when they get these "dashes" down the side.

The dashes connect and make a line and you can tell the skin is coming loose. Note the little "horn" on the back of his head. That will become the chrysalis.

They split at the top of their head. See how the green is spreading and his head is sort of on the side? Also, the "dashes" are starting to gather together near the bottom.

Almost done! The skin and head gathers at the bottom as the cat continues to wriggle and try to slough it off.

Done! Now he's entirely green and the skin and head fall to the ground. The chrysalis continues to harden up as it is still fairly soft at this point. The cat will still wriggle around for a while, too.