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Neat! 😁 Taking pieces from an exchange on GardenAtoZ says.... "Adult
butterflies don't know how many warm days are left. They just keep
laying until the frost kills them. So there are always some eggs and
caterpillars that don't make it. It's possible for late season black
swallowtail eggs to progress through caterpillar-ness to their
overwintering state, provided they have enough warm days. As
caterpillars they can survive cool nights -- but not freezing. By day
they need to eat and metabolize what they ingest to develop from egg to
a size large enough to pupate. That requires temperatures above about 55
degrees F for a couple hundred hours -- about 18 daytimes in summer when
it's warm, or perhaps four weeks in fall. Your caterpillars might beat
the 18-day minimum if you raise them in a warm house with grow lights
turned on 24-7. In the chrysalis these insects are quite cold hardy.
However, the chrysalis is subject to physical damage such as crushing
and also predation (birds, mice). If you're keen to go above and beyond
you can bring the host plants indoors to let this last brood keep
eating, ride herd on them as they progress to pupae (they're wanderers),
and finally cool those chrysalises down to 40F. Store them in the
refrigerator and set them into the garden in April, or put them outdoors
in a place mice or birds may not find them." I don't know if the above
is correct but it sounds reasonable. So I think the caterpillars have a
chance of making it to pupae by the end of October if there are no
freezing nights but the cold frame would likely help if you don't want
to bring them indoors. Good luck -- Please let us know how it turns out.
- [LincolnTalk] parsely caterpillars Stephanie Smoot
- [LincolnTalk] parsely caterpillars Karen Seo
