Swallowtail (Papilio machaon)
Once the Swallowtail was a rare, endangered species. In 2002 I visited a carrot field early in the morning and found 16 resting Swallowtails. In 2003 I planted Fennel with the result that I counted more than 20 caterpillars. Thanks to a lot of carrot fields every year, the Swallowtail is no longer rare. In 2018 and 2019 I found a lot of caterpillars (> 100 on one field!) and breeded them (the story (in Dutch) you can find here).
For photos of the other stages please link to my 'regular' page about the Swallowtail (Butterfly Gallery -> Papilionidae).
For photos of the other stages please link to my 'regular' page about the Swallowtail (Butterfly Gallery -> Papilionidae).
Sequence 1: Transformation from caterpillar into chrysalis (metamorphosis)
Sequence 2: Transformation from caterpillar into chrysalis (metamorphosis)
Sequence 3: Transformation from caterpillar into chrysalis (metamorphosis)
Sequence 4: Tranformation from chrysalis into butterfly (metamorphosis)
Sequence 5: Transformation from chrysalis into butterfly (metamorphosis)
Sequence 6: Transformation from chrysalis into butterfly (metamorphosis)
Sequence 7: Transformation from chrysalis into butterfly (metamorphosis)
Sequence 8: Transformation from chrysalis into butterfly (metamorphosis) 2020