Yes - congratulations!
My chrysalides were green, but they got the same circular crack near the bottom right before they emerged. I had thought it might mean the butterfly had tried to emerge but couldn't, and had died, but not so.
Tomorrow will probably be the big day! :)
Sherry

Wow, you guys are so observant! I have never noticed the crack before. I always like how they look like they have popped a little escape hatch. Especially since such a large butterfly comes out of such a small chrysalis. I haven't seen any in the wild yet here in Dayton.
-Elisabeth

It did emerge today! It is so fun to see them in their pristine condition. I guess now I will have to start checking my pawpaws for eggs .... Elisabeth do you need any for your house?

Awesome picture! Congrats on the Zebra Swallowtail.

And here, drying it's wings ....

{{gwi:478326}}

Absolutely gorgeous!

Can you tell me what type camera you have?

Sherry

Congrats! Gorgeous!

Sherry, I am using a Canon 50D with a 100mm macro lens for those shots.

So how do you tell the sex of a zebra swallowtail??

The only pictures I've got showing the sex of zebra swallowtails are in Florida Butterfly Gardening by Minno & Minno. The only noticeable difference the picture shows between male and female ZSTs is that the red spots on the upper side of males are merged. Here's a picture I took of the first of my two ZSTs that emerged earlier this spring that must have been a male -
{{gwi:461809}}
And here's a picture of the second one, that must have been a female, because her red spots are separated, like the female in the picture -
{{gwi:461991}}
Of course, there's no guarantee that Minno & Minno are right - there's a picture in the Audubon Butterfly Field Guide that shows a female palamedes swallowtail as a male. Did you take any pictures of the upper side of your zebra?
I had hoped mine would mate or find other mates and I'd get some eggs on my pawpaws, but I've gotten no eggs so far this year.
Sherry

Thank you Sherry!

Looks like it might be a male then.

{{gwi:478329}}

Jeanne, yes, we could use them at the house. Thanks.

Sherry, I can tell by examining the abdomens. I will start looking closer to see if the spots are merged or not on the males. I love this amature science stuff!

-Elisabeth

'Looks like a male to me, jeanner.
Do the males have claspers or are their abdomens just pointed, with the females' abdomens being rounded, Elisabeth?
Sherry

Elisabeth, I have eggs and the cutest little first instars - let me know if you still want some for the house!

What do the zebra swallowtail cats go after most of the time? If I can get some host plants in my garden, perhaps I can attract some swallowtails in my area. hehe

Right now I'm rearing several Monarchs with milkweed. I have 3 chrysalis, 14 cats and 2 eggs waiting to hatch.

In 9b Florida:
Annona glabra
Asimina incana
Asimina obovata
Asimina parviflora
Asimina reticulata

The incana, parviflora and reticulata are all shrubs that top out at 6' so they might be your best bet if you are looking for something on the smaller side.

KC

Jeanne;
Yes, yes, yes! We don't have any this year. The ones that emerged didn't mate. Our paw paw is looking gorgeous this year LOL! The house officially opened today. I was there this morning and it looks great. We have tons of monarchs already. This year is the year of the pipevine. We have quite a few adults and I counted over 40 cats on various vines. We had one giant swallowtail eclose today, with many more to follow. I released some milbert's tortoiseshells today in the house and they are doing well. I released some QMs a few weeks back. There are only two that I saw today but I counted 37 plus cats on the nettles. We are off to a great start. You can email me (bigoldbulldog@hotmail.com) to let me know how you want to get them to us, or drop by the house between 10 - 4 pm.
-Elisabeth

Jeanne,
As usual, your pics are incredible!

Jean is working a zillion hours a week these days which is why she is not gracing us with her amazing photos. :( She wrote me that she is making time to raise some ZSTs because she "cannot resist them."