Black Swallowtail Chrysalis
Baby it's cold outside

by Cathy
(League city)

I still have some chrysalis in my backyard. It will be 39 degrees F tonight. Is that to cold for them? Thank you

Karen says:
Cathy, my guess is these are Black Swallowtail chrysalis. If they are, these chrysalis overwinter and will not be harmed by the cold. Take a look at my photos of black swallowtail chrysalis and compare to your chrysalis. Hope this helps.








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Baby it's cold outside

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Black Swallow Tail Emerges in Winter
by: Susan

Our black swallow tail butterfly emerged this morning from it's chrysalis - in December! We expected it to overwinter and emerge in April. We live in Maryland - and the temperature is in the 40's - what should we do with the butterfly?

Karen says:
Susan, feed the butterfly either Gatorade, Juicy Juice or boil water and add sugar to dissolve (10 to 1 ratio). You can crumple a white paper towel on a plate and saturate with nectar. Hopefully it will warm to the 50's and sunny and you can release outside (although I don't know if you still have nectar plants still alive in Maryland??) I hope this helps.

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