Congrats, congrats, Susan!
The ones I've found have nearly always been laid near the center of the leaf, topside, but mine have always been green, nearly the same color as the leaf. Maybe yours are changing color because they're older and getting ready to hatch. I agree, the clear one is blank and won't produce a caterpillar.
What host plant did you find them on?
Sherry

They are on the Black Cherry, Prunus serotina, same as last year. I have a small Tulip Tree, but so far, the cherry has been the preferred host.

The eggs are fresh, just layed today. We had 2 rainy days in a row, and I check the little tree daily. So she just layed them today. Sandy mentioned that she found eggs on hers as well. She said they would use the Tulip Tree if the Cherry was loaded.

I hope she lays more because 2 eggs doesn't give me very good odds of survival, and I don't think they do well in captivity, do they?

Susan

I've had more deaths with tiger swallowtails than other swallowtails, Susan, except, of course, those zebra swallowtails. I'd guess that my success rate was only about ?50%, but then I haven't raised very many. I suspect that since I see tigers flying high so often that they lay most of their eggs high up in the trees.
Good luck!
Sherry

Hi Susan, Congratulations on the Tiger Swallowtails! I hope you have better luck with yours than I did with the one that I had last year. I have a small tulip tree in a pot (it really should be planted somewhere) and I didn't know there was a swallowtail on it until it was at least half grown. I think they blend in so well with the leaves. I left it one the little tree (about 3 feet high) and it seemed to be doing okay. I had read how inactive they are so I wasn't worried when I rarely saw it move. One day it started changing colors like they do when they are ready to pupate, so I was excited about that, but then it died.

I read on here, I think it was last year, that a person should mist the Tiger Swallowtail once a day. I forget who said it, but I think I might try doing that. I usually don't have trouble raising cats, but those must be difficult. Best of luck to you raising them; I hope they make it to adulthood.

Side note: My pussytoes and pipevines are doing great! I'm really excited about having the butterflies show up again. The pussytoes are starting to bloom and look really pretty. I also have Pearly Everlasting and Artemisia stellariana for the ALs. I think I might eliminate the artemisia, though, because I don't like the way it "dies out" for the year in the late summer and then the weeds come up. It is very difficult to weed an artemisia bed! I like that the pussytoes clump together and crowd out most of the weeds, and the American Ladies lay lots of eggs on them.
Cathy

I think Sandy said she had ALs, so you should be seeing them very soon, Cathy.

I think something got one egg already, but I haven't been able to make a thorough check because it's been raining again today. Not complaining, because we really needed it. Should help relieve our drought stricken area somewhat but it will take a lot more to break even.

The Tigers feed at night and rest in their leaf shelters during the day. That's why they appear inactive most of the time. Yes, in their last instar, mine turned a mahogany brown - very pretty. Of course, with those eyes, they're pretty cool anyway.

I have tried to grow Pearly Everlasting several times, and it just does not grow for me, but rather "melts" into mush. I don't water it at all much, but I think our combined heat and humidity makes it difficult for them to survive. I tried it both in the ground and in a pot (for drainage) and neither method worked.

Susan

I found 13 tiger cats or eggs earlier and only one is still a cat now. Two died as cats and the other 10 all pupated. I should add that only the first tiger cat I brought in was an ETST and it emerged successfully a couple of days ago and flew away. The rest are all two-tailed tigers, which are more common here. I don't know how many tiger eggs are laid very high in the trees, but I suspect most are laid within 10 feet of the ground around here. Oh yes, I forgot, I found another egg on a Hop Tree the other day, but it might turn out to be a Giant Swallowtail.

Congrats on your Tigers, Linda! Since you're in Texas, I am sure you see many more Swallowtail variations than we do. I've never seen a Two-Tailed Tiger (say that fast 5 times, lol!).

I'm curious, do you raise yours in a container? What host plant did you find them on? If you did bring them in to raise, how did the host foliage hold up for you?

Sorry for the questions, but I am always curious about how others raise their larvae, too.

Susan

I raised them all in containers...a few were found as eggs, the rest were found as small cats. Well, they showed up pretty darn early, so the only host plant that had sprouted any leaves at first was the Arizona Ash...not usually a favorite of the tigers. Then after a while the black cherry trees sprouted, so the cats started appearing on those, then one two-tailed tiger egg was on a Hop Tree. Kind of unusual here for it to happen that way, but this was an unusual year. The foliage holds up fairly well...I keep the stems wet by sticking them into containers of water and add new foliage when I need to. It's kind of odd to raise both tiger cats and Monarch cats in spring. The tigers take SO much more time to develop compared to the monarchs! I've released 3 monarchs and the rest will probably go today.

Oh, you are so right, Linda. The Tigers take forever!!!!

Well, if the Cherry holds up well in a cup, I may try to raise them if they hatch.

My butterfly sitings are wayyyyy down right now. Cabbage Whites are about the only thing around.

Susan