Hi Sara - those little guys are tougher than they look, I have had a few act weird like that and then end up fine, I would not give up on him yet!! I have also had a Giant Swallowatil form a chrysalis on his side and turn out fine. Keep in mind that before they pupate they will not eat for a while.

Shannon

It might be molting, too. Sometimes this can take 48 hours. There's good information in the FAQ section. Click on hand-rearing butterflies. Good luck. You are definitely not the only one that has dropped an egg, caterpillar, pupae...

Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ

Don't beat yourself up. I've seen mine fall from 5-6 feet onto concrete and not be hurt at all, they are tough as Shannon said. Whatever he is experiencing is most likely not as a result of anything you have done. Keep watching him and see what happens...

kelly

Thanks for all the kind words... it's very encouraging!
However, its been 48 hours and he still is not climbing or eating.
I do see his little body moving.. just a tad, almost like he is breathing ever so lightly.
If he is going to form chrysalis- how long will it be before I can tell this is happening?
Also, I bought him a butterfly garden habitat that is safe for him- but I am so afraid to move him now, should I wait to move him?
Thanks again...

If it is molting (shedding its skin for a new instar), then if you move it, it could cause major problems. They go through 5 instars (molts). How cold is in your house? That can slow things down. They can pupate without hanging. But, usually swallowtails clear their bowels before they start the pupation process. Loads of runny frass (poop).

My caterpillar is back up on the dill and climbing!
Thanks for encouraging me not to give up,
he is doing fine and hopefully is going to pupate soon...
I think he is clearing his bowels, but it's not too runny...more black little pellets.
How often does he need new dill? Can I feed him milkweed too?

Sara,
Your cat will need fresh dill whenever the dill s/he has runs out or wilts. And, no, milkweed won't help a swallowtail. That would be for Monarch cats.

Martha

Sara,

If you run out of dill, you can also use fennel, parsley, carrot tops (the green leafy part) or rue. I have used Queen Anne's Lace, but the cats will only go to that when there is none of the others left for them. Good luck!

Mechelle

yeah!

I found 4 swallowtail caterpillar s in my parsley garden. I put them in a butterfly holder my kids have but they are not moving after 5 minutes. I didn't touch them. But snipped the branch they were on and put them in. Not sure where to go. It seems late for them to change over.

My swallowtail caterpillars are always really, really lazy. They don't really move a lot unless they need to get to food. I've had them fall over onto their sides when I'm moving food around in a cage, and they don't even bother to crawl back up for a while. They start crawling all over the place when they're ready to pupate, which is noticeable because before that, they tend to be really inert!

I know this is extremely old but isn't funny how lazy they are then boom one day they're marathon runners!