Swallowtail back!

Today my sister came visiting and suddenly she said: Look, look! come quickly...!!!

There he/she was....The Swallowtail is back! he/she landed while fluttering around in my garden on the verbena. As quickly as I could I grabbed my camera and was able to get a glimpse of this beautiful butterfly.

In dutch the butterfly is named Koninginnepage so I always name her Queen!

Only when summers are very warm they fly up more north from the southern countries.

Back in 2006 The butterfly was here as well and I was able to photograph the whole process of transformation from egg to butterfly (click link here for the transformation series)

It is so amazing to see the whole process...and I am so delighted to see her back!

(Click images for sharper view)

Transformation

I made this film ten years ago, back in 2008
About the transformation of the Swallowtail butterfly.(Koninginnenpage)(Papilion Machaon)
The whole process from being a very small caterpillar, into spinning his cocoon, going into cocoon...
and then later on from cocoon to a beautiful butterfly.
Somehow I still am amazed at the whole process when I look at it again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA-wNC6ZwUg&t=66s

Queen out!

Yesterday evening I had to get something out of the garage,
And there he sat on one of my gardenboots.

I had stored the cocoon of the Swallowtail butterfly (Koninginnepage) in the window of the garage,
to keep him cool..so that he would not come out too soon.
(The rest of the house is much warmer).
That morning I had checked the cocoon, but didn't see, any sign he would come out.
I was mistaken.

There he was in full colors...
sitting on the boot, on the floor and I was happy that my eye caught him.
He could have been sitting anywhere in the garage, without me noticing.
I put him on the boot in the little glasshouse, because it was too late to let him outside.

This morning when it was warm and lovely outside I let him sit on my finger,
(its such a special thing, this tiny strong legs gripping your finger).
From there he flew off...circled a little around, till he disappeared high up in the blue sky.

gone out

It was a beautiful spring day, warm temperature...
I decided to open the door of the glasshouse of the butterfly again.

I noticed he did not eat of the nectar I had put in front of him,
I tried suggarwater,
I had put some flowers in front of him...
I did not see him taking any of it.
I also don't know how long they can live without food.

So I opened the door again to let him go if he wanted so.
within half an hour he sat on the blue anemome,
and one hour later he had gone out.
Did not see him back.
I hope he will find some flowers he likes.

swallowtail2

Later I opened the door of his house,(glasshouse)
He did not go out..so I kept the door open, to see if he wanted to fly out later on.
I easy could let him step on my finger, he was not afraid at all...
walked aroud for a while...His long legs have a quite firm grip...

Later on he started flying..into the bleu rain, blauwe regen, (wisteria)
He sat there all afternoon, did not fly away at all.
Later when it became a little colder, I helped him in...for maybe to stay a little longer inside.

He first flew some circles around my garden.
sat on some lower plants,
Then he landed on my sweater...!
just the right place to bring him back into his house, for staying another night at home.

Swallowtail

This morning The Swallowtail butterfly was ready to go out.
First he warmed in the morning sunrays.
I had put a blue anemone in his little house and a violet.
He easily stepped on the plant,but I did not see him eating from the nectar.
So I also put inside some nectar for butterflies, not knowing which kind he likes.
He only sat..sometimes moving his wings...fluttering.

Swallowtail

This morning...I watched the cocoon carefully...
Though....
In one moment, just being a few minutes somewhere else...
coming back, there he was.

I had missed the final moment, but was in time to see him climbing out
Anyway.

Here he is pumping his wings...and rolling with his tongue.

What a beauty.

cocoon Swallowtail

Last week I noticed that the cocoon of the Swallowtail (Koninginnepage) I had saved last year. had changed color!
You can now see the yellow shining through.
(these are the new wings of the butterfly shining through)

See also the full story of last year to read more about it
I knew then, that it would take only one or two days,
that the butterfly would come out...!

Help that would be a little too soon!
or....?
maybe butterflies know exactly the right time to come out.

cocoons

The 2 cocoons have colored into brown ones.
Sometimes they are green...sometimes brown.
These got brown.

The third caterpillar which got an artificial safetybelt did not make it.
He has died.
The running around in circles and the exhaustion I saw on him.
Constantly falling down..getting up again and not being able to find a place of rest.
made that he could not spin his own safetybelt.

too much running around...made that he did not transform.
Such a pity...

cocoon 2

Yesterday I waited and watched the 2 caterpillar carefully all day.
I did not want to miss it again.

All day long... nothing happened,
Except that I saw him pushing & making sort of labourmovements.
It started getting darker...so I took him inside.
Got my daylight photolamp...to get some more light.
I also took an extra lamp(not daylight) which I regret now..because of the yellow light on the right side.
(But thats more my desire for perfection..and is maybe not so important.)
He started pushing, moving his coat...downwards,
untill it's skin broke open at the shoulders (so to speak)
As it broke then he shook, pushed his old skin more downward..till it reached his feet
and fell down



Again it is such an amazing sight.
making you still...such wonder.

Now is the waiting till next year...
probably end of April, when the butterfly is ready to come out & fly!

Third

The third caterpillar had to cope with some difficulties.
In the beginning when they start to wander around to find a place on a branch or stem...he could not find his spot.
He started running around in circles and circles for miles.
I saw him getting exhausted..falling over...getting up..falling again
Tried to help him, to place some nice branches in front of his nose...
He did not want.
Finally I let go.

Next morning to my relief, he had found a spot on a branch, and started spinning...
After spinning the layer...very thick.
You can see how white the branch got.

He finally began to spin his little girdle.
I watched him for a while..but after some time I saw him hanging without a girdle.
Somehow either the girdle was too thin and it broke.
Or some other reason I don't know of.. that there was no girdle.
Did he use all his spinning-material on the layer and had he not enough for the girdle?

Doing nothing would mean he cannot cocoon on a normal way.
He would probably die.

I thought of helping him out ...the only thing I could think off
is making girdle and see what happens...
So I took a piece of thread...
I put it around his back and glued the ends of the thread on a nearby end of a twig
I have no idea if this is helpful...

We have to wait and see, if he can cocoon in this handmade safetybelt.

cocoon

Yesterday when it was already getting dark, the first caterpillar popped.
It was a pity it was too dark..to make photos and I expected it would wait till the next day.
Not so.

To my surprise it had cocooned without me.

Spinning 2

Yesterday nummer 2 caterpillar started spinning.
he had found a branch to hang onto...made a spinning layer on the surface, and then started spinning his girdle.

I always wondered how he fixed the girdle around his back.
Because he is spinning the little string in front of his little legs..
How does he manage it around his neck?
I was just in time not to miss it this time.








As if his last looks say...this is how you do it.
acrobats!

spinning

Today..lovely sunny day,
One of the caterpillars (The one I found a few days ago)
started spinning.
First he spun a layer on the stem of the plant.
And then he started making his safetybelt.
Its such a loevely sight.
More than 30 times I guess..making the girdle stronger and stronger.



When he was finished he sat down quietly.
Hanging a little in the belt, (frontlegs loose,)

Such a brave heart.

caterpillar 3

When I inspected this morning the 2 caterpillars, how they were doing
after lastnights floodrains...
and if they already are preparing for cocooning.

Suddenly my eye caught another caterpillar sitting on a foeniculum plant nearby.
A fullgrown third one!
I could not believe my eyes.
Was this the lost one and now being found?
Or is this another new one.

So now there are 3 of them almost ready to go in cocoon.

It feels as if I found a little treasure...