The giant swallowtail, Papilio cresphontes is one of the largest, and in my opinion, most beautiful butterflies found in our area. I’ve seen several flying through the county this spring. The larval or caterpillar stage of the giant swallowtail is known as the ‘orangedog’ caterpillar. The namesake comes from it feeding on the young foliage of citrus trees. While orangedog caterpillars are considered a pest of commercial citrus, they can be tolerated on trees in the landscape in order to enjoy the beautiful giant swallowtail butterfly!
The larvae of the giant swallowtail are mostly brown with white markings, resembling bird droppings. I have heard some people even refer to them as ‘bird poop caterpillars.’ This is one of their defense mechanisms to prevent birds from eating them. Another pretty cool defense mechanism they have is when they are disturbed, they have two orange ‘horns’ that extend from its head that give off a pungent odor in an attempt to scare off predators. The two horns are in a Y-shape and resemble the forked tongue of a snake.
I have seen several eggs and a few very small caterpillars on the potted citrus trees I have waiting to be planted in my landscape. In some cases, particularly with young citrus trees like this, the caterpillars can cause widespread defoliation. If this is the case and you cannot tolerate their feeding damage, you can simply remove the caterpillars from the tree. Instead of squishing or killing them, try relocating them to a different plant such as fennel. This way, the caterpillars will have a food source and will hopefully molt to become a beautiful giant swallowtail butterfly for you to enjoy.
The giant swallowtail adult butterflies feed on nectar from azalea, bougainvillea, Japanese honeysuckle, goldenrod, dame's rocket, bouncing Bet, and swamp milkweed. Interestingly enough, they can also feed on the liquids from manure. In addition to citrus, host plants for the larvae include native members of the citrus family (Rutaceae), including plants such as northern pricklyash, Hercules-club, lime pricklyash, hoptree, sea torchwood, and Mexican orange.
For more information on giant swallowtail butterflies, please contact the UF/IFAS Jefferson County Extension Office at (850) 342-0187 or dsprague@ufl.edu.
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