Thank you for responding Sherry. I checked on the cat this morning (4th day in captivity) and surprisingly, it's still alive! It's not deflated but I don't think it has eaten. I have it in the new habitat which allows more air circulation (we are already in the mid to upper 80s here in Florida). When I cleaned out the temporary habitat of plastic tub with mesh net over the top, I noticed wood dust in one corner of the tub. I had placed a stick in the tub so the cat would have an easier place to hang when pupating. On close examination of the stick there was tunneling under the bark on one end. I wonder if some other bug emerged out of the stick and harassed the cat causing it to mark all over trying to defend itself. I did not find any bug in the habitat or on my screened porch but it's small and the screened area is large. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed now.

Do you know of anyone who has had great success raising Zebra Swallowtails? I'd like to get any pointers, suggestions and help that I can. I've successfully raised several hundred monarchs and gulf fritillary butterflies over the past 2 years and was hoping to help other varieties this year. I've planted host plants for Zebra Swallowtail, Polydamus Swallowtail, Pipevine Swallowtail, White Peacock, Giant Swallowtail and Black Swallowtail, as I've seen each of these in my yard in previous years. But these would all be new for me to raise. I have gotten 4 Zebra Longwing cats to pupate as of this week, my first foray into helping other butterfly variaties.

Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Anna

I wish I knew of somebody who had successfully raised these caterpillars, but, I've been posting on the Butterfly Forum for years, and rarely does anybody mention having raised them. I think they're pretty rare all over.

When I moved to my new house, one host plant I didn't even plant was a pawpaw. I didn't think I'd see a ZS, and, if I did and it laid eggs, I wouldn't have success raising them. All the other butterflies you're hoping to raise by planting host plants are easy to raise, you should have good success eventually.

Now that I think about it, I have a friend who lives in the country who posted a video on Facebook of a zebra swallowtail flying around in her garden - she asked what it was. I told her and asked her if there were pawpaws growing nearby, and she said yes. I may contact her and ask her to take me to the wild pawpaws. Maybe zebra swallowtails just raise themselves better than we can raise them.

Sherry

Well, I can't tell you how surprised I was this morning to not only find the ZS cat alive but also in the chrysalis form!!! It pupated last night on a leaf in the habitat. I don't know what to think. The chrysalis is only 3/4 inch long, is that normal? I would have expected the cat to be larger before it pupated and therefore the chrysalis to be larger. It looks like a healthy chrysalis and it shed its cat skin as a healthy chrysalis would. Could all of that marking just been frustration and anxiety over trying to find a place to pupate in a habitat ill suited? Or can they pupate under certain conditions if there are injuries?

I can't wait to see if a healthy ZS butterfly actually emerges!!

Anna

Congratulations! Zebra swallowtails always make a small chrysalis 'Makes you wonder how a butterfly could come out of it, but then ZSs aren't the biggest swallowtails by any means. Please post a picture of the adult butterfly when it emerges!

Sherry

Thanks for confirming the small chrysalis size. Makes me feel better. I assume it will emerge around 18 May. I will definitely post a photo. Sherry, thanks for the info and support.

Anna

Here it is, the long awaited Zebra Swallowtail!!! It emerged today after 9 days in the chrysalis perfectly healthy.

Anna

Hooray! Congratulations!

Fantastic!! What a gorgeous butterfly he/she is!

Sherry