FOR SALE, Black Swallowtail eggs

Papilio polyxenes --  Black Swallowtail Butterfly eggs for sale.

$8 for first dozen + $6 each for additional dozens + $5 shipping.

U.S.A. orders only please. 

Eggs are from multiple pairings between unrelated butterflies; equivalent to “wild.”

Foodplants:  Leaves of any plant in the Carrot Family (Apiaceae):  Parsnip, Parsley, Carrot, Dill, Fennel, etc,  This butterfly is ideal for classroom rearing because the foodplants are quick to emerge in the spring and grow luxuriantly deep into autumn, so that high-quality leaves can be gathered easily and the life cycle can be completed while schools are in session.   These leaves also do not wilt as easily when cut and inserted in a pop-bottle vase as those of many other foodplants.  I prefer to use wild parsnip because its leaves are larger and easier to gather and can take temperatures down to 10ºF without damage, so they are available in the wild until extreme winter weather arrives.  As long as they have healthy leaves to eat, the larvae are not prone to wander until they are mature and begin to search for a place to pupate, so they can even be reared in the classroom without a cage until then.

An experiment can be set up so that one set of larvae will receive 12 hours of light while another set receives 14 hours per day.  If the larvae receive 12 hours of light (or less), the pupae will be brown and go into diapause, with emergence after the following winter, although prolonged warmth will eventually trigger unpredictable emergence in brown pupae.  If the larvae receive 14 hours of light (or more), the pupae will be larger, green and hatch out into butterflies within 2 weeks.  With light durations between 12 and 14 hours per day, you are likely to get a mix of both types of pupae.  The critical stage in which this is determined is the final larval instar. 

Note:  Eggs are sensitive to excessive heat: please do not supply an address that delivers to a mailbox in the sun.   Please allow me a full week to ship because the eggs you have purchased have probably not been laid yet, other orders may be ahead of yours, and butterflies do not lay many eggs on cloudy days.  If the package is delayed by USPS, I will either re-ship or refund the order and shipping charges, because all problems associated with shipping are always the responsibility of the seller.