Are my Swallowtails SICK or Dying?

12 years ago

I think I may have gotten some pesticide spray near my citrus with 4 GST cats.

This is my first experience with any CATS and I was sooooo looking forward to seeing these creatures mature into full grown butterfly adults!

A few days ago I found one cat dangling off his branch with his back legs still attached... he just sits there now for a few days.

the other 3 cats were acting normal until this morning when I found one of the cats on the ground - the other 3 dangling....

I quickly searched this forum and found a post about ooze - which I also noticed coming down from the tree where they were stationed.

If there is anything I can do to help the little guy who fell or the other 2 (now one is missing in the tree) that are now dangling.

pictures here:

http://yfrog.com/o0t3vkj

The one that fell off is just laying on its side. I put him in a tupperware container and picked off a few citrus leaves hoping that it might get hungry and decide to eat again... any chance I can save them?

Here is a link that might be useful: PICTURES of DANGLING GST

Comment (1)

KC Clark - Zone 2012-6a OH
12 years ago
The one in the picture is done. When they are twisted over their body, they are past being helped.

If you are raising them outside, I'd say leave them alone and hope. If you choose to put them all in containers, put each one in its own container. If they really are dying from insecticide, putting them in their own containers will do nothing but if they have some other problem, you want them away from each other when in containers.

This year, I had an imperial with black death recover. I put it on an uninfected sweetgum, where it sat for seven days before it started eating again. It ended up being very small for an imperial but at least it lived.

KC
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