I just found these little guys when I was watering the pipevine. I looked through the BugFiles, and I think they are Polydamas swallowtails, Battus polydamas. Maybe someone can give me a second opinion? I'm going to try to get a stepstool to get a closer picture....
Thanks, Cathy
Try as I might, I cannot get a better picture! Hopefully the cats will come downward to eat fresh leaves when they finish up top, which will be soon. I may have to play traffic coordinator and direct them to the big mass of leaves at ground level. Then maybe I can get a better pic.
They do look like them, it seems the Pipevine cats have more orange bumps and the Polydamas cats have more orangy horns. You should be able to tell soon, after they grow a bit.
Congratulations!
It's probably safer for them up high than ground level, but then again, predators will find them wherever they are.
Thanks fly_girl! One of the pipevine tendrils caught onto the bananas and traveled up them. Of course that's where the cats are, about 10 feet up, but they are kind of hidden, so hopefully they will survive!
So what did they turn out to be?
They were Polydamas cats, and they got big and fat, but I don't know if any of them made it to adulthood.
I've since moved the pipevine from its pot under the banana tree to a permanent location under a trellis in the front bf garden. It's been growing beautifully, has lots of new tendrils, just waiting for some little cats! I saw a Polydamas back in January flitting around it, but never found any eggs. :-(
This is a pic from December, it's grown a lot since then.
Cathy
Oh, I remember seeing your trellis post. Well Polydamas are ones I won't have in my area. I am sure some of then made it.
I hope they did, the cats were so darn cute!
I love the trellis, very nice. I always think it is so funny how this variety of caterpillar stays together like a little herd.
I also have had concerns about whether the cats survived. I noticed a large wasp hanging around my passiflora with GF cats. I chased it away but wasn't able to kill it. When I returned home later, I found several orange blobs where the wasp came back and had lunch. Next time I saw a wasp, I killed it with a vengence.
Now I am thinking about fostering some of the swallowtail cats this year to improve their chances
sv - Gorgeous trellis - great idea! Now, if I can just get my hands on some pretty, old iron panels! Samantha
Looks like I'm gonna have to learn how to raise cats. I've had too many of them disappear from my butterfly bed (I feed lots of birds and do have wasps too). The only ones that have survived here were some monarchs that got on my butterfly weed the year I had it sitting in pots under my kitchen window. It's on the northeast side of my house away from birds and wasps. Too bad it's too shady to have a BF bed there. Oh well, my grandkids will probably love learning how to raise cats with me--we can all learn together. I'm sure I will be on here looking for help :-)
Trudi3 & graceful_garden, thanks for the compliments! I took a picture of the trellis today, the pipevine has grown in a little bit more. Lots of new growth for those little cats, I hope they show up soon!
NatureLover1950, I have lots of wasps too, and I SO dislike them! I think they can read my mind or sense my blood pressure going up when they come around! I got bitten several times within a couple of months, and the last bite was a doozy, my hand swelled up nicley, so now they get the wasp spray and I don't feel bad about it at all.
Cathy
Cathy,
Is that a Hollyhock I spy by your trellis? It is so pretty but I didn't think they would grow here in FL.
Yes it is, I don't hold much hope for it to last through the summer, but I sure do enjoy it right now! I'm hoping I can save some seeds and start some more in the fall and just enjoy them as a winter annual. It sure would be nice if they would self seed, or better yet- just adapt!
Cathy,
I quit feeling guilty about spraying the wasps some time back. I don't mind the bees--as long as I get out early in the morning to work in my flowerbeds, we share space quite nicely and I've never been stung. But those wasps (especially those nasty red ones) are very unwelcome around my house. They've chased all of us, including my poor golden retriever. She likes to sprawl out in a cool corner of the patio and last summer the wasps decided to try to run her off. Needless to say, a can of wasp spray settled that issue! I really like your trellis too--it's almost a shame the vine will cover it all up. I plan to get a tower trellis for my butterfly bed (someday, lol).
