Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Giant Swallowtail... Laying an EGG!

We are creating a Healthy Habitat on the property where Alex does her co-op. Today, I got to see something amazing. A Giant Swallowtail Butterfly laying eggs on this plant!

Can you see the egg? It's a little left of center. I actually saw her lay this egg and another one!

And, unfortunately it is blurry, but here she is laying the egg in the first photo! How neat is that?

And, here's a little clearer photo of the butterfly. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of memory or I might have got a better shot. Anyway, we have spent a lot of time trying to identify this host plant and haven't got a positive ID. Does anyone know what it is? It has thorns all over the stems and it has a strong odor - I think it smells like pine. You might be able to see the thorns better in some of the other photos. Anyway, I'd love some help identifying it!

8 comments:

Rachel @ Finding Joy said...

Fabulous photos! That is an amazing experience to witness firsthand.

We just finished raising (ha..we really did nothing) painted lady butterflies. It was a fascinating event to watch those tiny, tiny caterpillars turn into butterflies.

Blessings,
~Rachel~

Donna said...

Gorgeous! Oh my...what a picture! I'm so happy for you. My son, Andrew, used to catch cocoons out in the fields and 'raise' them. How I miss those days!

Unknown said...

Oh, I do see it! That's wonderful. When we are quiet and still we can observe so much.

Paula (Belgium) said...

Please, give this a follow up with a photo of a big, fat caterpillar! Lovely!

Dana said...

Oh, WOW! How amazing that you were there at just the right time - how in all of creations business you were able to see something so small and so lovely doing what it was meant to do that very moment! I'm excited for your photo capture.

Robin said...

Holy smokes!! I am so stunned at the amazing opportunity that you had. Doesn't it make you want to go back every day and check on it?

Mama Teaching 3 said...

I love it!!!! Thanks for sharing!

Rhonda said...

WOW! It is not very often that you get to see something like this. You are so lucky. I can't help you with the plant that the egg is on, but I want to tell you that I can see the egg very clearly. Nice shot!

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