I bought a spicebush in the hopes of hosting a spicebush swallowtail in 2011 and my wish came true.

I was able to watch a female spicebush swallowtail butterfly nectar on my flowers and lay eggs on the spicebush-

July 17, 2012

I didn’t know what to do as it is a small bush and I didn’t know if it would be able to support any caterpillars as they eat a lot. Someone from Monarch Watch named Mona helped me to set up a rearing tank. By the time I was comfortable enough to try this I couldn’t find another egg. I found only empty shells where something had eaten them and this is common. But on the underside of one leaf, I found a tiny little caterpillar that looked like bird poo. July 26, 2012

I took a plastic container and put small holes in it to hold the spicebush twigs and filled the bottom with water. These caterpillars only feed at night so I didn’t get to see much. The water got changed daily and every other day I added a fresh twig with leaves.

The spicebush caterpillar tucked into a leaf “nest” that it notched on both side so that the silk would start to pull it in gradually making a leaf roll for it to hide in during the day, July 31, 2012

August 2012

I think this is a 4th instar and it looks like bird poo or with its eye spots, like a snake to scare off predators. I took this late at night.

I think this is a 5th instar and the last before it looks for a place to become a pupa.

Just before the caterpillar becomes a pupa, it turns yellowish or orangish, stops eating and looks for a place to pupate…

The caterpillar found a place to pupate and attaches itself with silk and makes a silk band under its body.

Here is the final chrysalis. It looks like a leaf on purpose to help conceal it. This caterpillar may not emerge as a butterfly until next spring as the spicebush does over winter as a pupa. In that case, I will have to expose it to our winter weather.

October 2012

We put the little spicebush caterpillar in the garage protected from anything that might want to eat it in a screened tank.

May 2013

On a Wednesday in May… warm spring day my husband put the tank and caterpillar on the front porch even though I expected nothing. On Friday I looked and it looked kind of dark like it was rotting.

Saturday I was sitting on the porch with my coffee and I looked at the tank… Oh my gosh…. it had just eclosed and was pumping its wings up with fluid from its abdomen. You can see it knitting its proboscis together as it comes split.

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Here it is drying out its wings

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I put it in the house away from the wind and released it later in the day. I think it was a female and she was beautiful. I kept it for several hours to make sure the wings were dry and let it go..