The distance they go varies a lot. I've found them on or very near the pipevines or as far away as my front porch, where I've found them underneath the chairs there and on the molding over the windows. I've also found them in the pump house between the garden and the house. Remembering that a football field is 100 yards long, they probably don't go farther than say, 75 yards.

They usually pupate on something sturdy, nothing that moves too much with the wind. It takes them about ?36 hours to make their chrysalis once they've put down the silk, made the sling, and assumed the "C" position.

Some of the chrysalides are green, but most are brown. Here's a picture of a green one on the gardenia bush in the garden -

{{gwi:467902}}

If I were you, I'd start hunting now, because it's easier to see them while they're pupating and still black than after they've pupated. You could start right there on the chicken wire. :)

Sherry

Thanks Sherry! You're always such a fantastic source of great info!

Another question Sherry......
Do they tend to put the chrysalis in a certain distance above the ground? I looked and looked all over the place today and couldn't find a single chrysalis. Do they tend to be, say, 2-4' above ground, or could it be anywhere?

Thanks.

They could be anywhere, Catherine. I've never seen chrysalides any higher than about ?7 feet, but then I wouldn't likely be able to see them any higher than that, even if they were there. They're good at hiding, very hard to find. If you see what look like newly emerged pipevine swallowtails flying around starting in about three weeks, then you can assume they've emerged, wherever they were hiding as chrysalides.

Sherry

Thanks Sherry.
I'm thinking I'll see alot of them emerge in a short amount of time, since they all seemed to disappear at the same time.
I just hope they aren't inside the chicken run. I'll have alot of catching to do! I guess I'd better get a butterfly net ahead of time.........otherwise the chickens will have a field day. (and then drop dead??) I have no idea if they instinctually know what not to eat.
The pipevine is getting a short rest....only a couple eggs and 1 lone caterpillar now. But I'm sure that will change shortly.
How long do they pupate for? The picture you showed looks like they use a leaf?......or is that just their camouflage?

I'm not sure what you mean by "use a leaf" Catherine. The chrysalis is attached to a branch, and, yes, the green, swirled coloring is good camouflage.
I'll guess 3 weeks as how long it'll take before yours start to emerge, but the weather plays a role - things go more rapidly in hot weather than cool. There are also individual differences. I still have 2 or 3 chrysalides left from a batch of about ?25 from much earlier in the spring. 'Don't know what makes for stragglers.

Sherry

Hi Sherry,
What I meant was that your chrysalis looked like a leaf was around it, so I didn't know if they pupate inside a leaf? Sorry for my ignorance.
I still can't find any......but what makes it really hard this year is that it got into the 80's for awhile unusually early in the spring, then got really cold, and tons of the tree and bush leaves died. So we have tons of dead, curled up leaves still on the trees and bushes......and they all look like chrysalides........but they aren't! haha

You're NOT ignorant, Catherine, just new to pipevine swallowtails! :) There ARE some caterpillars that make their chrysalis in a leaf. Red admirals frequently make theirs right in the nest - I've found them like that outside on the false nettles, also even when I raise them in cages, a few will stay in the nest to pupate. But pipevine swallowtails don't do that, at least I've never found one inside a leaf.

I didn't show you a picture of a brown PVS cyrsalis. This picture shows the shape of a pipevine chrysalis better than the other one - I think they look like those statues on Easter Island! :)

{{gwi:467903}}

Sherry

LOL Sherry.....you're right about the Easter Island look! That's amazing!

P.S. Sherry.....
Do you think they'd ever use pine/fir trees for their chrysalides?

They certainly might. I don't think they care what type of tree it is, they're just intently running and I think they pupate on a sturdy site wherever they happen to land when they're through running. Some run farther than others and some hide better.

Sherry

Thanks Sherry. I'll keep looking!