Wildlife Wednesdays: Raising a Spicebush Swallowtail

I found this cool little caterpillar by accident on the railing of my deck. At first, I couldn't identify the caterpillar through my normal field guides. But, I've got a great book, The Life Cycles of Butterflies by Judy Burris and Wayne Richards. They've beautifully detailed the life stages of butterflies. Through this book, I was able to identify my caterpillar - he/she is a newly hatched Spicebush Swallowtail.


The color and physical appearance of the caterpillar changes with each molt. In this stage, this little caterpillar resembles bird droppings. Its host plant is the Spicebush, but here in Ohio, you often find them on Sassafras trees. I'm positive this is why I found him on the deck - we've got a Sassafras tree right next to it.


My kids and I decided to raise this caterpillar and have been feeding him Sassafras branches every day and recording his life stages.


By the way, those cute little eyes aren't really eyes at all; they're false spots, the real head is under the front skin. Stay tuned to see how this caterpillar keeps changing.....

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