Eyeing female depositing an egg on hidden Wild Carrot A lucky sighting! A female  Black Swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes (Fabricius), 1775 deposits an egg.  1st and 2nd Instar 3rd Instar 4th Instar 5th Instar Spinning thread and Letting Go! Talk about a weight loss that many would envy . . . the Black Swallowtail evacuates its entire digestive system before becoming a chrysalis. Note how much smaller it is in the shots above . . . when comparing to the photographs … [Read more...] about Flower Hill Farm BUTTERFLIES OF 2011 ~ Favorite Eastern Black Swallowtail

Eyeing female depositing an egg on hidden Wild CarrotA lucky sighting! A female  Black Swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes (Fabricius), 1775 deposits an egg. 1st and 2nd Instar3rd Instar4th Instar5th InstarSpinning thread and Letting Go!Talk about a weight loss that many would envy . . . the Black Swallowtail evacuates its entire digestive system before becoming a chrysalis. Note how much smaller it is in the shots above . . . when comparing to the photographs of the caterpillar eating … [Read more...] about Flower Hill Farm BUTTERFLIES OF 2011 ~ Favorite Eastern Black Swallowtail