Black Swallowtail Butterfly - Life Cycle - Chrysalis - Caccoon - Caterpillar - Egg

Here is my summer experience with the life cycle of the Black Swallowtail Butterfly. They were laying eggs in my herb garden all summer long, so I collected the caterpillars and raised them in a pickle jar, and then i released them. I released over a dozen butterflies this summer. This was a most interesting and fascinating miracle of nature to witness and experience. Mother Nature ROCKS!
Video ©Floyd Murray
Music ©BenSound.com
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[@lunacadence6050]

I have never seen a video this good about these specific caterpillars. What a treat! I must save it. TY.

[@saribog]

Amazing! Watched this with my girls who are so excited about the dozen or so black swallowtail eggs we've found on our dill plants! This video was clearly a labor of love. Thank you!

[@floydwebtube]

Thank you! I hope you and your girls enjoy your observations of nature. Cheers!

[@saribog]

@@floydwebtube We have now raised many, many rounds of black swallowtails. It's become a tradition we look forward to each summer. And each summer we enjoy your video!

[@floydwebtube]

@@saribog that is fantastic! Thank you for sharing. Mother nature is the best! Cheers to you all!

[@incognito3049]

I raised Black Swallowtails, and Monarchs! Awesome Video

[@floydwebtube]

I'm going to do Monarchs this summer... I have milkweed seeds.

[@incognito3049]

floydwebtube Me Too!

[@chrisd6097]

Also fascinated- last year raised 134 butterflies, monarchs and swallowtails. I raise them from eggs on my dill in the driveway cracks & a couple of milkweeds. - they are truly amazing, a great quarantine hobby, even had 2 overwinter and emerged after our Chicago winter. Such a beautiful gift from mother nature! 🙏

[@bd81064]

Thank you for posting this. I am raising six black swallowtail caterpillars right now. I haven't done it before so I'm devouring every video I can.

[@MrDeathpilot]

A few corrections: Eggs hatch; Chrysalids eclose. Moths make silk cocoons to enclose the pupa. Butterflies form a chrysalis, which is the pupa. Your first instar caterpillar shown is actually the second, the second is actually the third. 12:48. This chrysalis is upside down.

[@katehache]

Fantastic video! I found 4 on my fennel and lots of eggs. I can’t wait to see some butterflies! Thank you for taking the time to make this.

[@LShaver947]

I found a female laying eggs on some parsley plants, I decided to take 4 eggs and one of them hatched today!

[@alfaalfa9488]

It is an amazing experience, I have Monarchs visiting my garden, munching on Milkweed and dills, I normally don't bother except just before the last freeze I had to rescue one and brought one in and watched it turn into a cocoon and soon into a butterfly. Of course right on time as the weather warmed up. As humans and our discourse of society, have been poisoning our environment and depleting the butterflies and bees. It is in part our responsibility to become aware of the importance to help our nature by seeding our environment and herbal gardens. Thanks for being a helping hand

[@floydwebtube]

You are welcome, and thank you for helping nature! Mother nature is the best! Cheers!

[@lunainezdelamancha3368]

Amazing documentary. I have a black swallowtail caterpillar feeding of my parsley as I speak. Your documentary is helping me to understand what's happening to BB...my caterpillar. ❤ thanks

[@floydwebtube]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it and benefited from my video. Thank you for take care of wildlife and mother nature! Cheers!

[@maheenshahzad7369]

this is so wholesome, you treat them with so much love!!! please keep doing this for the butterflies so that the population stays up!!!

[@floydwebtube]

Thank you. Surprisingly, I did not see one black swallowtail butterfly this summer, and I only saw one Monarch butterfly. I only saw about four honeybees this summer too. Things are changing.

[@maheenshahzad7369]

@@floydwebtube their numbers are sadly decreasing , hopefully theyll go up again as more people become more passionate about nature. bees are essential for most fruit and veg so i hope those horrid companies come to their senses and stop causing so much pollution.

[@oliviabranch7907]

This was truly outstanding. Thank you so much for such a pleasurable experience. Butterflies are an amazing expression of God's infinite creativity and far too few of us get to see this fabulous handiwork so closely and in such wonderful detail. Thank you again for your work.

[@floydwebtube]

Olivia Branch Thank you for the kind words. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Nature is truly wonderful.

[@robynmize4713]

thank you for all the information. We just found a GORGEOUS Swallowtail Caterpillar in my parsley ... and let him feed for about a week... now transferred him into a canning jar to watch him. He was very happy with the sycamore twig we added for habitat... and has started spinning his anchor. Timing is everything. We were blessed to be able to watch him hatch... and show my friends on FB. He still appears to look like a caterpillar tonight... cant wait to see what tomorrow brings.

[@valerieallen8402]

This explains so wonderfully what happened to my schedule the past 2 weeks. I am fascinated by the wonder of this miracle.

[@floydwebtube]

Valerie Allen I can relate. I was locked onto them for most of the summer. Thanks for viewing, and I hope you subscribe

[@kandycross5472]

Thank you so much for your patience and recording and sharing your finds on this great majestic creature ..

[@floydwebtube]

Kandy Cross Thank you!

[@cynthiamm51]

Thanks for your pain- staking effort, and patience to film and post this. This is amazing!!!👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽😊❤

[@floydwebtube]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@jacquithurlow-lippisch9619]

Absolutely amazing! I had no idea. So fast! Thank you for filming and sharing. I will never look at the caterpillars the same!

[@PJKerr128]

Thank you so much for this video. I've had a Black Swallowtail Butterfly in my house for 5 days. We found him when we cut our parsley. This video has already shown what I have seen and experienced. I think he is now ready to form a chrysalis. I'm glad I have an idea of what to expect. This video is PERFECT!!! Thanks again.

[@shermendlakk]

haha the caterpillar is very cheeky the way he scares enemies

[@heatherjoyjohnson9523]

Truly beautiful, Floyd. Your patience is almost as amazing as God's creation! Thanks from Shenandoan Valley, Virginia.

[@floydwebtube]

Thank you for the kind words. :-)

[@floydwebtube]

HeatherJoy Johnson thank you for the kind words. Glad you enjoyed the video, and thanks for viewing. Hope you subscribe.

[@leylaerciyas4744]

This whole video was so wholesome, I love it. Also is anyone here because they have a caterpillar cause same, mine only just spun its silk hahaha

[@floydwebtube]

Leyla Erciyas Thank you for the kind words! Mother nature is the best!

[@leylaerciyas4744]

floydwebtube I’m so excited to watch the process, mines a citrus caterpillar.

[@staceygianoplos6381]

Beautiful! A work of art.

[@marykalinowski3730]

Simply beautiful magnificent is God's creatures. So beautiful and amazing it brought me to tears. The music is also perfect for such an amazing video

[@thejmacs1900]

one of the best videos I have seen in a while...well done

[@floydwebtube]

The Jmacs Thank you for the kind words. Please share and subscribe! Cheers!

[@TheLakewoodca]

Beautiful! We watched this video while observing our little Black Swallow caterpiller munch away in our parsley garden. Thanks so much for sharing!

[@floydwebtube]

Y Groeneweg Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@SaphsContainerGarden]

Thank you for recording and sharing the whole process!! I just planted some dill and hope to experience this myself!

[@floydwebtube]

Saph's Container Garden Thank you for watching! Good luck with your swallowtails!

[@vickyp5361]

Beautiful. Love seeing every step. Amazing video

[@juliel.7009]

I thoroughly enjoyed this video...Thank you so much for taking the time to make it. 😊🦋🦋🦋🦋

[@Barb76]

I grow dill every year for them, love this video 😃

[@floydwebtube]

Thanks for feeding them, and thanks for watching my video! I like to put as many plants around as I can to feed pollinators. Cheers!

[@Barb76]

@@floydwebtube they also love zinnias. ❤️

[@PeternVertue]

watching here friend

[@floydwebtube]

Thanks for watching! Cheers!

[@gardens4me]

very nice; I started raising Black Swallowtails and I am totally hooked. Buy yourself a mesh enclosure...inexpensive and a safe environment for them.

[@floydwebtube]

Thank you. I didn’t see ANY butterflies this year.

[@ktdesign5]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge it is very important to recognise nature

[@mariespringer5587]

This is better than television! I have 2 swallowtail caterpillars that I'm watching and your video helps with the timeline--thank you!

[@gardengoddess1283]

Thank you so much for educating me!!

[@ozymandias7592]

Brilliant presentation, i like your enthusiasm and authentic wonder regarding these phat boys.

[@girlart9]

Awesome video. Thank you so much!

[@karenmason7532]

Thank you so much for posting this video!!! I have been raising Monarchs and plan to raise Black Swallowtails as well. I found one late this summer and have the chrysalis in my garage waiting for spring. Such an excellent video!!!

[@floydwebtube]

Thank you, and enjoy! :-)

[@darlenep5206]

AWESOME Video !! Thanks for sharing !

[@LauraRetyi]

Thank You Simply, Incredible love, your explaining whats going on

[@tonyb7748]

This is genuine. Bravo!

[@1smilingcutie]

Excellent- THANK YOU

[@kkossor3046]

Beautiful video and very educational! Thank you for sharing. 🦋

[@sweetlandsheatingcooling9039]

Fantastic video, explanation, and music too.. Thanks for doing this!

[@EveofJen]

Excellent video! I have a family of these guys living and eating off a Rue plant in my garden and I’m just fascinated by them. I’ve loved seeing all the cocoons around my garden and learning more while watching these incredible little creatures!

[@pamnemzek2432]

Thank you so much for sharing this, Floyd. I raised a few Monarchs this year, and just found 4 black swallowtail cats on the parsley I planted for them. These guys like it better than the dill and fennel at my house. Your video was helpful. Now I know what to do!

[@natalier3020]

Fascinating! Just found some on my own parsley and dill today and found your video! Thank you!!

[@back2naturegirl310]

Excellent video!!! Thank you for making it!!!

[@danlee6712]

Beautiful...thank you for sharing...Sandy (Dan Lee's wife)

[@BillDubeVariety]

Wow SUCH A GREAT VIDEO and Study... Great narration Thank you!!!!

[@luking8051]

Thank you SO MUCH for making this video, Floyd! i love it! I am raising my first pipevine caterpillar. A spider ate NINE of my other caterpillars! So sad. I have this one in a box and have learned so much from your video about feeding, etc. I found them on my Dutchman's Pipe plant. Thank you!

[@Andover-wp8rk]

The best video yet. Very informative. Very well executed.. Thank you for putting it together.

[@curlblossom9404]

Thank you for sharing! This was a great video! My son and I found a bunch of swallowtail caterpillars on our dill a few days ago 😊

[@AngladaFamilia]

Great job! Wonderful video, and very educational. Thank you for capturing God's spectacular creations on video, and for sharing.

[@kathy1846]

Love this, thank you for sharing, I send to my g son and nephew's 😊

[@misshaughton244]

Thanks for sharing your Butterfly Experience Amazing 😊

[@floydwebtube]

Thank you! :-)

[@floydwebtube]

Sinead H i’m glad you enjoyed it. Mother nature is the best. Thanks for viewing, and I hope you subscribe.

[@chantalcoffee]

Best butterfly video ever! Went to your webpage. Please do more things like this! Thanks

[@stevedenicola6507]

That's very beautiful Floyd. Just a wonderful imagery of when a person becomes born again of Gods spirit. God is truly amazing isn't He? From the smallest of creatures to the vastness of space, He makes Himself known to us. You really have a gift of filming and narrating. thank you.

[@floydwebtube]

Thank you for the kind words. Peace to you.

[@SoulBotanicalFarm]

I love this video. Just like thou i discovered one on my dill and now i have 13 I'm raising. Mine are their 1st and 2nd instars. I'm really excited to watch mine grow into butterflies. Thanks for this video.

[@stlounsbury]

Beautiful. Thank you.

[@floydwebtube]

You are welcome. Thank you!

[@janetr7022]

Outstanding video & narration! Will be sharing this with my 7 year old Granddaughter!

[@caterpillarnana]

Hey Floyd I dig you the most. Don't worry about all that esoteric jargon. Your descriptions were easy to understand and very insightful. Why not expand your garden with a bit or rue for the giant swallowtail butterfly, a pipe-vine for the pipe-vine swallowtail butterfly and some spicebush for the spice bush swallowtail butterfly. Heck why not go all out and grow milkweeds for the monarchs. Good luck with your garden, your videos and most of all your butterflies.

[@floydwebtube]

I tried growing milkweed this summer, and half a dozen green plants grew about 3 feet tall but never flowered. Next year I’ll be living in a more rural environment and have beer gardens. Thanks for the reply! Cheers!

[@kimuseni]

Great job. Thanks for the lesson. We are just starting to raise monarch butterflies

[@nubianqueen1916]

Awesome!!!!

[@floydwebtube]

Thank you. Isn’t mother nature the best! Cheers!

[@anthonytindle5758]

Nice video the patience needed to follow the life cycle of the animals can be tiring but you managed it pal and made a good informative video in the process is insperatioal, look forward to seeing other works of yours.

[@kelisurfs247]

You got some great shots! Nice job!

[@amyalbrecht5477]

Dill plant is Caterpillar Poop! Beautiful butterflies !

[@user-ux6dw3zk4p]

Great video & great herb garden! I dream on somewhat like this)

[@jbug1979]

Loved your video. You're curiosity is truly contagious! I bet you find yourself down the rabbit hole a lot..?

[@floydwebtube]

jbugg LOL. Yes I can go pretty deep down the rabbit hole… like this far. Thank you, and enjoy! kzbin.info/www/bejne/f6HCmqOLabFqpsU

[@jbug1979]

@@floydwebtube lol you're punny! A man after my own heart.

[@tinkieie100]

You did a great job video taping them. I enjoyed watching., I subscribed .

[@floydwebtube]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it! :-)

[@caroldybowski3020]

I have Monarchs going through their cycle now. Can't wait to watch all this....

[@WaterlandFilms]

Hi floydwebtube! This video is a great documentary of life cycle of butterly! Great narration as well. I subbed to your channel! 😉

[@floydwebtube]

Waterland Films Thank you for the kind words and the sub! Glad you enjoyed the video. Please share! Cheers!

[@WaterlandFilms]

@@floydwebtube my pleasure bro!

[@thisishowwego907]

im new to the swallowtail and i cant wait to hatch some out....! hatched hundreds of monarchs...

[@donaldrobbins252]

I had a swallowtail lay 20 eggs on my dill. I'm looking forward to see what happens next. Just the perfect video I was looking for. Thanks.

[@floydwebtube]

Donald Robbins What will happen next, is they will eat all your dill. LOL Enjoy, it is a privilege to witness such a miracle of nature. Thanks for viewing. Hope you subscribe.

[@wazamachaz9896]

Awesome video mate

[@floydwebtube]

Thanks, mate! Cheers!

[@caroldybowski3020]

Amazing!!!1

[@TriciaMary]

Really enjoyed watching this. I am raising Monarchs in New Zealand, Cheers!

[@floydwebtube]

Thank you. I hope to visit your beautiful country someday. :-)

[@MoonRiseCottageSoulTarot]

Thanks for this vid! Had one of these butterflies fly into my house in VT last week!

[@floydwebtube]

Thank you very much! Please subscribe if you haven't already. :-)

[@floydwebtube]

Moon Rise Cottage Soul Tarot glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for viewing. Hope you subscribe.

[@hazelyoung7574]

Thank you very mach

[@floydwebtube]

You are quite welcome! Thanks for watching.

[@capicuaaa]

Wow, this is incredible! Good on you! I'm currently raising Old Word swallowtails indoors too to help their population.

[@floydwebtube]

Daniela Martins Thank you! For both the kind words and for raising butterflies! I didn’t see one monarch this year, and I only saw one or two black swallowtails. Didn’t see many honeybees this year either. It’s crazy world. All the best! Cheers!

[@medfordarts9785]

Pretty Amazing!!! Thanks for doing this! Wish I had seen it earlier. I've had 4 in my 3 season porch since late September. Two hatched in May and one hatched today. The last one will probably come out in the next couple days. It's been a wonderful experience! BTW Their chrysalis looks like a mummified cat from a certain angle. Very strange!

[@rethablair6902]

New subscriber here😎

[@floydwebtube]

Thank you, and welcome! Cheers!

[@86_marthar11]

Amazing video

[@floydwebtube]

Thank you. :-)

[@floydwebtube]

86_martha r Thank you. Amazing creatures.

[@ilnpa2722]

Thank you doesn’t seem to be fitting enough for all the work you and patience that took to put this video together. I specially appreciate the part when she’s weaving her silk harness. No other videos have shown that and I was specially curious about how she slipped into it. Again I greatly appreciate your video. This is my first year growing plants to attract swallowtails and it’s amazing how fast they’re able to locate them. I already have one pupae and maybe two more eggs. Thank you so much.

[@floydwebtube]

Thank you for your kind words. I’m glad you appreciated the video. I hope you’re subscribed! Cheers!

[@floydwebtube]

Thank you for your kind words. I’m glad you appreciated the video. I hope you’re subscribed! Cheers!

[@heatherbrewington5362]

I have hatched out about 15-20 Black swallow tailed butterflies this summer. I planted parsley with the knowledge that is was a host plant for them. I have sure loved having them in my flower beds this summer.

[@karentarro.3435]

I would love to know how long it takes once they've gone into the chrysalis stage for the butterfly to emerge. I've got one Chrysalis and three caterpillars they are munching away on my Queen Anne's Lace. Was very happy to find this video thank you so much it's beautiful!

[@lunacadence6050]

💜

[@bryndendevenny9875]

This is amazing! We’ve raised monarch butterflies from the milkweed in our yard. The kids found 23 eggs today so we have our work cut out but I didn’t know swallowtails laid eggs on dill! I have dill in my garden, I’m excited to check it out! Can I ask how long each stage is? And how much dill do they eat? My kids will be excited to go look for more eggs!

[@missg.5940]

I plant purposefully dill every year and every year l get the caterpillars. They don’t smell bad in my opinion, leather like the smell. Now that they have stripped the dill, l will move them to the Queen Anne’s lace and will carrot that l also grow for them. We also have a very large bee and butterfly garden, a butterfly puddle,band bird feeders. Love my gardens and their visitors.🐝🦋🐌🕷🐇🦝🐿🐰🐸🦉🐞🦗🦎 it is always entertaining and fascinating!

[@evebonk1805]

There are about 13 of those on my garden

[@pattyc2324]

Thank you for this excellent video. I just found seven little black Caterpillars (first stage) on my parsley plants. I left them there for the night. Not sure if I should put them in a jar or just let them be.

[@henpeckedlizard9873]

You should try to take one in and raise it:) I had one and its in it's chrysalis now

[@TKevinBlanc]

Great video. In case anyone is thinking of buying grocery store dill to feed them.... BUY ORGANIC. The pesticides on non-organic dill will kill them quickly.

[@deborahmays4697]

This is my second year to raise Black Swallowtail. what is the typical period of time between chrysalis and butterfly? Thanks for your great video!

[@larryeskridge3004]

Hall is the only one one in the the hall hall lol lol I got a little reds

[@WhereisAlexMcAngel]

How absolutely beautiful, without words! Thank you so much for sharing that ! :) Mine went into chrysalis last night, how long do you reckon until the butterfly comes out?

[@alisondavis1203]

Hello from Port Douglas Australia! Loved this video - thank you it has been very helpful. We have many swallowtails in far north Queensland and in our garden the Ulysses butterfly (electric blue) which is endangered. We planted Melirope/Evodiella trees, which are the host tree, last year and over the last few weeks Ulysses have been laying eggs. Many didn't survive due to predators but we brought some of the caterpillers inside and now have 5 chrysallis. Question for you, have you had any butterflies that hatched but couldn't unfold their wings ie: all crumpled? If so do you know why this happens? It is so hard to find information so thank you again and we expect our little brood to hatch over the coming days.

[@floydwebtube]

Alison Davis Alison Davis thank you for the reply from down under! I had the privilege and pleasure of circumnavigating Australia back in 1985, and visiting many cities. I’d love to go back. No, I’ve never had one hatch out and not fly away. I have no idea what could cause that. Hopefully it doesn’t happen anymore. All the best to you. Cheers!

[@MarianasInFL]

The eternally crumpled/ wet looking wings are caused from a parasite named Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE). If you run into this, make sure to sanitize your cage, plants and etc before raising another generation.

[@johnpaulcappa8081]

Wonderful! I did this last year w this species on parsley. What were the words u used for the caterpillars retractable antennae? And word for poop?

[@barbbruce7945]

That was. A great video. I wish that you would not have called the chrysalis a caving at one point. I wish that you would hAve explained that often the caterpillar would eat it’s own shed skin for protein. Dan you should Thad shower the difference between a male and female butterfly.

[@floydwebtube]

I try to do the best I can do. Thank you for your comment. Cheers!

[@nancycook9959]

Great video but how long were they in the Chrysalis?

[@Carolina-ji8pp]

So cool!! What do you use to record??

[@staceygianoplos6381]

BTW, what's the name of the last piece of BenSound music your using here?

[@sybilleperreault6239]

Is any one watching right now? I have a chrysalis that started emerging this afternoon. Does any one know how long the whole process takes? I have been staring at it for about 4 hours. thank you