I Don't Know Why Swallowtails Do This

[Cheryl Adams]

perhaps just an artifact of breeding in close quarters. Hard to say if this could occur in nature owing to the difficulty of finding chrysalides under any circumstances. Cats do like to use a silk path already set down by another which probably leads to this.

 

In any event, for you folks who also do raise-and-release and may encounter this, these should not be left this way for the sake of 'cuteness'. The silken 'mat' set down by the top pup on the lower one will act like a straight jacket and prevent it from splitting open for eclosure next spring. So a bit of minor surgery is required to save both.

 

Simply grasp the bridal of the top pup with tweezers and pull gently and the entire silken mat with chrysalis should lift off.

 

Don Adams

["Grissom"]

I would have to say these two pupae are in love.

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