First Tiger Swallowtails!

Today is finally the day. The first 2025 Tiger Swallowtail caterpillars are appearing in the wild!

(Even though these specific larvae are NOT being sold because they aren't from our flight houses, they are still very cool!)

Tiger Swallowtail butterflies are an extremely common species at Tallyho, but it is very rare to find any caterpillars in the wild. That is due to them laying their eggs at the tops of Tulip Poplar trees, which can grow up to 120 feet high when they are full mature!

Thankfully, this year the Tiger Swallowtails seem to have noticed our Sweet Bay Magnolia plant, and we were able to find 3 caterpillars on the one plant alone, all in the first-second instars.

Adult Tiger Swallowtails are a bright yellow, with blueish-black patterns on their dorsal and ventral sides. Male Tiger Swallowtails have a black stripe on the bottom of their dorsal wings, while females have a bright blue stripe also.

Female (Photo Credit: EJMphoto on flickr) Male (Photo Credit: Tallyho Butterfly Farm)

Tiger Swallowtails first lay their green eggs on the leaves of Tulip Poplar, Black Cherry, and Sweet Bay Magnolia. Then, the small, bird-poop looking caterpillars crawl out of the eggs and begin munching. It takes around 2-3 weeks to turn from a 2mm hatchling to a 2-inch fully-grown caterpillar. Then, they make their chrysalis, (which they are normally in for 10-20 days, but can be for up to 1 year if hibernating!), and emerge as the adult Tiger Swallowtails, ready to mate and keep the cycle going.