chrysalis color

[Jim Mason]

I am raising two Black Swallowtails.  They both were fed the same stuff -
hemlock and fennel, as available.  I provided a couple of sticks in the
terrarium for pupation.  One of them used a stick and the other one just
harnessed itself to the hemlock.  The one who chose the stick became a brown
chrysalis.  The one who chose the hemlock became a green one.  Of course,
these colors matched their substrates, making for good camouflage.  Has
anyone else noticed this correlation?  I would like to know if Black
Swallowtail cats that attach to brown sticks always become a brown chrysalis
and if cats that attach to living vegetation always become green.

Jim Mason, Naturalist
jmason at ink.org
(316) 683-5499 x103
Great Plains Nature Center
6232 E. 29th St. N.
Wichita, KS 67220-2200
http://www.gpnc.org