Hobbies And Interests
Egg
The butterfly life cycle is pretty much the same for all species of butterfly. First comes the eggs. The female pipevine swallowtail deposits up to 20 brick red eggs only on the tenderest new shoot tips of the pipevine plant. As the eggs hatch, these leaves serve as the first food source for many voracious little mouths. Once hatched, the larva are caterpillars.
Caterpillar
The pipevine family of plants are poisonous to most, but not for the tiny, new caterpillars. They stay grouped together at first, ingesting the chemicals that are toxic to other animals, and they absorb those same chemicals into their systems. Thus, they too become toxic. As they grow more and scatter to other areas and leaves, molting four or five times, the pipevine swallowtail caterpillar assumes a distinctive look. Unlike some caterpillars, whose greenish hues provide protective coloring in a garden, the pipevine swallowtail caterpillar's toxic little body is black with small red spines and it stands out. Once it is fully grown, the caterpillar enters what is called the chrysalis or pupal stage. In other words, they encase themselves in a cocoon.
Pupa
Butterfly cocoons come in different shapes, sizes and colors. For all the brilliance of the beautiful coloring of the adult pipevine swallowtail and its caterpillar, its cocoon, or chrysalid, is a dull, drab green or brown. The shape is interesting, though, sporting angles, curves and horns covered with a filigree-type effect. How long the pupal stage lasts depends on the time of year. If the caterpillar enters the pupal stage late in the summer, or in the fall, they will not emerge from it until the next spring. If they enter the cocoon in early summer, however, they make their way out, as adults, within a few weeks.
Adult
As an adult, the pipevine swallowtail butterfly begins the entire process over again. The adult butterflies live only about a month, but during that time they feed on the nectar of flowers, pollinate other flowers, mate and breed -- and even provide inadvertent protection for other butterflies. Most birds avoid the pipevine swallowtail because their coloring alerts them to the butterfly's toxicity. Other, non-toxic butterflies have learned to mimic the pipevine swallowtail's coloring, which can cause some confusion for people attempting to identify the butterfly and hesitation among birds seeking a meal.