i took the advice here, and moved my black swallowtails inside. there was some attrition -- we're down to seven from the original thirteen. some just died. survival of the fittest, huh? but the ones who made it... well, it just goes to show how fast you can grow if you eat 24/7. and the prodigious amounts of poop!

before...

after...

hah hah! that was a joke.

the second photo is a less welcome visitor to my garden, the tomato hornworm. huge beast. more than two inches. devoured quite a lot of my goose creek tomato. but little longterm damage done, since tomatoes grow so quickly. we did it roman coliseum style, and my kids voted to let the thing live. they do turn into modestly pretty moths, the five-spotted hawkmoth. it's now happily munching on tomato suckers in a cage next to the swallowtails.

here's what the swallowtail cats look like after a week: