Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) life cycle

Larval hosts: Rutaceae - citrus family

Ornamental citrus (orange, tangerine, lemon, lime, grapefruit)
Baretta (Helietta parvifolia)
Colima, Lime Prickly-Ash, Wild Lime, Cat's Claw (Zanthoxylum Fagara)
Hercules Club (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis)
Hoptree, Stinking Ash, Wafer Ash (Ptelea trifoliata)
Prickly Lime Ash, Tickle Tongue Tree, Toothache Tree, Texas Hercules Club (Zanthoxylum hirsutum)
Texas Torchwood (Amyris texana)
Rue (ruta graveolens)

Hope the information and photos are helpful. If anyone has photos of Giant Swallowtail eggs, caterpillars, chrysalids or butterfly - please add on and share.

Must start off with a mating pair!!!

Giant Swallowtail egg on tangerine leaf.

Another Giant Swallowtail egg on tangerine leaf.

Giant Swallowtail - first instar caterpillar

Giant Swallowtail - second instar caterpillar - starting to resemble bird poo

Giant Swallowtail - third instar caterpillar - yep, good camouflage pretending to be bird poo or a snake!!!

Giant Swallowtail - fourth instar caterpillar - I love the feel of these big instars. They are so soft and smooth to the touch - just so long as you don't actually touch bird poo thinking it's a caterpillar!!! Been there...done that!!! Note to self: Self, never, never forget to go out into the backyard without your eyeglasses!!!

Giant Swallowtail - last instar being to pupate - and yes, sometimes they pupate in the most unusual of places!

Giant Swallowtail - chrysalis

By the way, this was a Forbes Silkmoth cocoon on Colima (Prickly Lime Ash) - which is also a host tree for Giant Swallowtails in south Texas. We sometimes see caterpillars of the Forbes Silkmoth, Giant Swallowtail butterfly and the Sickle-winged Skipper butterfly on the same tree.

Giant Swallowtail also like to mudpuddle.

Forgot to mention - Swallowtail caterpillars have a fleshy forked organ called an osmetrium. It is usually yellow, orange or reddish in color and it looks like fleshy horns at the top of it's head. When they are disturbed the osmetrium protrudes and emits a pungent odor similiar to the smell of anise. It's supposed to scare or ward off predators.

This caterpillar is on native Colima - which has thorns!!! However, when I'm looking over the citrus trees in my back yard I'll brush my hand over the leaves or tap the branchs - the smell helps helps me pinpoint where a caterpillar is hiding!!!

Giant Swallowtail - ventral view

Cat, you are such a wonderful teacher
Is teaching your profession? If not, it should be.

Keep them coming Cat the pictures are wonderful.

Yes, it's great! And I hope the butterflies make a come-back this year here. Last year wasn't very good. But I'm afraid the cold winter could affect the butterfly population this year. We'll see.

I have seen GST at least one or two a week. I did raise a few early in the season too. It is August in TX right now and very hot and dry. Hope to have some more bfs as the weather cools off.

Yes, i have raise 4 this year, and have seen eggs on the Hercule's club, but they disappear very quickly, more predators than prey, I guess.

I miss all those pics Cat used to post.

Where is cat?? I have been wondering.