Two Black Swallowtail Butterflies

by Jan M
(Decatur, IL)

We had one black swallowtail chrysalis in a glass jar with a mesh top. There had been two caterpillars in the jar but one disappeared and the other formed a chrysalis about three days later. This morning (after 10 days in the chrysalis), two butterflies were in the jar. Both emerged the same day and still only one chrysalis in the jar. Have you ever heard of two butterflies emerging from the same chrysalis?

Karen says:
No, I have never heard of this happening. I am wondering if the second caterpillar became a chrysalis and camouflaged itself so well that you couldn't see it. I am guessing you have checked the jar thoroughly for the second empty chrysalis. Was the mesh top on the jar all of the time? If not, it might have wandered nearby to go into a chrysalis and then joined it's "friend" in the jar after it emerged :)

Otherwise, you have a miraculous twin!!