2018
We now have Two Black Swallowtails caterpillars collected , one went into chrysalis 6/15/18 . We should have more. Last year was the neighbors use of pesticide, this year a family of Thrashers has built a nest near the host plants ,and proceeded to consume all but the 2 rescued. We observed the Trasher offspring on the ground Tuesday, hopefully they will leave soon.
Looking forward to this year , although a generation has been consumed already, it's nature's way and provided nutrition for the fledglings.
As a side note , a non captive Swallowtail had his wing partially severed last week by the Thrashers and found on the sidewalk alive.
Luckily I had spare parts from another ST found dead in the same area earlier and successfully repaired the wing with contact cement and was thrilled when it flew away with its new wing. From now on I will keep spare wings for such an occasion in the future . Some of you may deem this overboard. That's ok.I agree
Hopefully CT Yankee will enjoy success with his Monarchs like last year.