Eastern Black Swallowtail Hatches After Six Months

Leecy and I have had this collection of Eastern Black Swallowtail Chrysalises since October 2009.  I had previously read that occasionally some of these Butterflies don’t hatch out of their Chrysalises until the following Spring.  That seemed like an awful long time for these Butterflies to stay in the Chrysalis stage, but what did I know.

Before I share the picture, take a moment to think about this wonderful thing of nature.  How the heck do these Butterflies know in October, when it’s still quite warm in Houston, Texas, that they should stay in the Chrysalis stage until March?  Heck, it was 80 degrees today, the hottest day of the year so far.  When I stop and think about this it just amazes me.  Anyway, just some random thoughts.  Now on to the picture (taken by Leecy).  Oh, and we had two of them hatch today!

Eastern Black Swallowtails Hatching After 6 Months