Lucky! That is a lot of tupperware, did you have to bring in a truckload of tupperware for all you Zebras?

Jacob

Woohoo!

Please keep posting pictures as the caterpillars grow!

Sherry

Thanks for the words y'all!! Actually, the Dollar Tree sells them 3/$1, so I don't think I will go broke!! I will post more pics as I go along. Really hoping to find more on the trees and to save as many as possible and get them to adulthood. This is SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Angie

What part of south are you from? I'm assuming FL or GA. I would love to have a Pawpaw, but most of people I know that have them, don't see any.

I live in NW GA right on the TN line. I planted 3 Pawpaws in my yard specifically hoping to attract Zebras, and this is only the second time in 9 years that I have seen one and had cats. So, we do not commonly see them here.

Congratulations! And I am *very* jealous!!

Well, I am very happy to have them, and I hope to successfully get them to adulthood. This country needs more of them!

They are truely one of the most beautiful swallowtails in the US.

Another jealous one here. Don't know what I'd do if I saw one in my garden.

They are beautiful Jacob, and the fact that they are so elusive makes them even more special. bossy, I almost had a stroke the first time I saw one here, so I feel ya. I'm one of those crazed butterfly people who goes running wildly out into the yard to ID what flies into it. Just got back home and saw my first yard Monarch of the year on one of the butterfly bushes!! It was being chased around by two American Lady butterflies who looked to be trying to mate. Today, I am at 26 Zebra hatchlings and 6 eggs. I wonder about those eggs though. They all turned dark, but they don't seem to want to hatch. I guess time will tell. Next week, I am going to give some of these cats to two other ladies in town who are wild about the idea of raising some. I would share some with everyone here if I could. :)

Angie

Found some more tonight. Oh gosh!! Up to 32 hatchlings now!

Wow, Angie, I'm impressed! I'd say you're one of the few people on here who have gotten to raise Zebra Swallowtails. My trees here have probably finally gotten about as tall as I am and I have yet to see a ZST here at all, but maybe someday. One of the butterfly guys on the BAMONA website had told me one time that there are usually lots of ZSTs that puddle along the river several counties away from here, so you just never know. Even if I never get them, Amber and I get to raise lots of other kinds, so that's nice. So far this year all we've had lay eggs were some American Ladies and a few Black Swallowtails. Oh, and we did just see some Giant Swallowtail eggs on the gas plants, but I'm holding off on bringing them in because I don't have luck with the cats when they're tiny. I used to have 14 rue plants but took it all out but two plants because we're so allergic to it. I didn't have luck with my TMW coming up this year for some reason, so I had to buy some from a butterfly farmer, so thank goodness he had some. The few I have are only an inch tall, which is pitiful for this time of the year.

Of course, I'm also into birds, and that's fun too, but we've had to take all of our feeders down because we've had a bear coming around here a couple times a week. It dragged three of our feeders off and totally destroyed the one. One might be fixable if I can figure out how to put it back together. One had lots of holes in the metal but I think it might still be usable. I've been making sure I'm inside before dark because I don't want to run into it. Other people in the neighborhood have seen it and they say it was born last year. It also took down someone else's feeders. I just hope that it doesn't wreck the metal pole feeder setup we bought last year. It was just here Friday night and has mud smeared all over the pole from trying to reach up and get at the bird seed that isn't there anymore, just the baffles because we didn't feel like taking those down too.

I'm kind of long-winded because I haven't been getting on here much for various reasons, so I thought I'd tell you what has been happening here. I wish you much success with your Zebra Swallowtails and all of the other butterflies that you raise this year. I hope we all have a good year so the butterflies have increasing success. I'm glad that more and more people seem to be getting interested in planting milkweed for them and even raising them.

Cathy

Hey there Cathy!!

So good to connect with you again!! Sounds like you are staying busy enough up there! I sure am blessed to have these Zebras, and you certainly contributed to that blessing by sending those two little trees to me. I will snap a pic and let you see how they have grown. I have Pawpaw fruit on both of them this year!! And, I did find some of these current Zebra cats on them. So, thanks again for those trees!! Hope we can connect more soon.

Angie

A few questions, Angie. You have one cat in each of the containers? Is there a reason for that? Do the containers have air holes, or aren't they necessary? You add a leaf or so every day to each container?

Tom, I will try to answer your question, though Angie might have different reasons for her arrangement. When I raise Monarchs, I often keep them in small Tupperware-type containers without any holes, initially, because the small ones don't require much oxygen, and I open the containers at least twice daily. Also, the enclosed containers keep the leaves from drying out so quickly. If she has just one cat per container, it is likely to prevent spread of disease or parasites. That is the most responsible way to raise any caterpillars, though it would be impossible for many on this site, due to the large numbers they work with. Hope that helps. I am sure Angie will be back to clarify her methods.

Martha

Ok. Sorry I have neglected to update. I ended up with 31 Zebra Swallowtail cats. I gave 12 of them away. Of the 19 that I kept, I now have 17

Congratulations, Angie! I'm glad that so many of them did well. I guess there will usually be some casualties along the way no matter what kind of caterpillar/butterfly a person is raising. You did good. ;-)

Cathy

Oh, and if you get a chance to post some pictures of your Zebra Swallowtails on here, we all sure would appreciate it. The only ones I've ever seen were in pictures, and I've always thought that they are so very pretty.