As we continued to learn more about raising butterflies, the next on our list was to start rearing the Giant Swallowtail.

I love all butterflies, and the Giant Swallowtail is no exception. There is something so mesmerizing and exciting when we see these large yellow and black creatures fluttering gracefully through our backyard.

We bought a couple of Prickly Ash trees (and more recently Rue) which are host plants for the Giant Swallowtail.

The caterpillars look like little bird-droppings at first, then quickly start to resemble a snake. The chrysalis camouflages blending into the environment like a piece of bark or wood. The result is a stunning butterfly.

The life cycle of a Giant Swallowtail is longer than some other butterflies, taking more time to grow from caterpillar into their chrysalis and hatching as a butterfly.

Here are some of our pictures of the ones we’ve helped rear in our backyard! We don’t tend to get as many as some of the others but it’s always a treat when we do!