Pipevine Swallowtail

[htg1523 at att.net]

I posted starting back in early august when I had a pipevine swallowtail laying eggs on some small pipevine plants that I had in my yard in Old Lyme. 
   Over 80 eggs were laid in a period of 3 days.  I don't know if all by the same individual or not.  I gave half of them to a friend and decided to keep the rest myself.  I did not have enough food but knew where I could get more but after a couple days of this I decided to take the larvae that I had to the food source.  I discovered shortly that I had missed two caterpillars and felt that I had enough food  for them at my house I so kept them and watched their growth almost every day..
  On 9/4 one of the caterpillars was not moving on the bottom side of a rail of a split rail fence right near the food source.  On 9/5 it was in the  shape of a "C" with both ends touching the rail.  On 9/6 there was a chrysalis supported by a "sling". 
   On 10/6 the chrysalis was hanging down  from one end and had turned dark and also appeared to have some fluid oozing out of the bottom end. On 10/8 the chrysalis was darker, almost black, and I thought I could maybe see some some white spots in a row.  Because of the wet area on the bottom end I still thought something went wrong and it had failed.  
  On 10/9 the chrysalis was  split, transparent and empty.
  When I first saw the chrysalis I never dreamed that the adult would emerge this late in the year.  I also saw the second caterpillar when it was searching for a place to pupate but could not find the chrysalis

I called a friend  that raises monarchs to tell her what had happened and she told me that monarchs  have the same wet fluid business before they emerge.  It was all new to me.
Hank Golet, Old Lyme
     
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