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Berkeley's Anise Swallowtail Caterpillars
and Butterflies
Kathy and I started raising anise swallowtail
caterpillars a few summers ago. Not on purpose, really. I made the mistake of
rescuing one from some fennel that I had cut in the back yard, and decided
to bring the caterpillar and some fennel inside so that I could watch it
for a while. Well, before long I had brought in 2 or 3 more, then 20 or
so. Watching these caterpillars eat (and eat and eat and eat), crawl, wave
themselves around, and, especially, change their coats and finally their
entire bodies is, surprisingly, very relaxing and satisfying.
The condo, nursery, bassinet, and pupa pad...
Tools...
Time for chow...
Beware store-bought food!
The preferred foods...
Convergence...
Newborn...
Reasoning with a youngster...
Pumpkerpillars...
Twins...
A tiny wasp larva intervenes...
Don't toss out that drowned
cat!
Silk...
Frass...
Something there is in a fennel
plant that loves a caterpillar egg...
Cats can be a handful...
Applying low voltage...
Time to roam...
Contortion...
It's pupating where??
No harness? Stop worrying...
What is that weird
thing?!
Dunno--that pupa looks sort of dead...
Emergence...
The butterfly...
Girl or Boy?
The fabulous flying machine...
Full Span...
The antennae...
The proboscis...
Close-up
Home-feeding a butterfly...
Timeline...
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Comments,
Questions, Corrections
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