SoCalButterfly

SoCalButterfly For the enjoyment of nature

08/20/2026

This tiny Anise Swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio zelicaon) is only around 2nd instar, happily hanging out on fennel… but that little cocoon beside it tells a much darker story. 👀

Most likely, a parasitoid wasp or fly laid an egg in or on the caterpillar. The developing parasitoid used the caterpillar as its food source, eventually emerging and spinning that cocoon nearby. 🐛➡️🪰

Yep. Nature invented Alien long before Hollywood did. 😂

And while it’s brutal to watch, parasitoids are an important part of the ecosystem.

They naturally regulate insect populations and become food for other wildlife.

Raising butterflies really teaches you that a host plant isn’t just a nursery—it’s an entire miniature food web.

Generational reactions:

👴 Boomers: “Leave it alone. That’s nature.”

😎 Gen X: “We survived lawn darts. The caterpillar can handle this.”

😂 Millennials: “I was emotionally invested in this caterpillar for 12 seconds and now I need therapy.”

💀 Gen Z: “Bro got parasitized before his first molt. 💀”

Meanwhile, me staring at the fennel: I came here to raise butterflies, not film a National Geographic crime documentary. 😂

🌿 Host plant: Fennel
🦋 Butterfly: Anise Swallowtail
🐛 Stage: ~2nd instar
⚠️ Suspected culprit: parasitoid wasp or fly

08/13/2026

I had an impulse buy from Oregon. 🦋📦

Actually… I had 7 or 8 impulse buys. 😂

I bought these Two-tailed Swallowtails (Papilio multicaudata) as chrysalises from Oregon, and they were supposed to do what Two-tailed Swallowtails normally do this time of year:

Overwinter. Sleep. Eclose next year. 😴🦋

That was the plan.

But patience has never been one of my stronger butterfly-raising skills. 😂 So instead of waiting until next year, I let them eclose so I could enjoy them now.
And THIS is why. 😍

Two of them, side-by-side, absolutely working over a butterfly bush blossom like an all-you-can-drink nectar bar. 🌸🦋🦋

🌿 BUTTERFLY NERD FACT:

The Two-tailed Swallowtail is native to California, but you're much more likely to encounter it around inland valleys, foothills, mountains and desert areas than in the heavily urbanized parts of coastal Orange County.
So having TWO of these giant yellow beauties nectaring together in my little urban butterfly world feels pretty special.

And yes—their name is literal. Look closely: two tails on each hindwing.

Was I supposed to wait until next year?

Yes.

Did I?

Absolutely not. 😂

Generational reactions:

👴 Boomers: “They were supposed to overwinter. You should've left them alone.”

😎 Gen X: “You paid for them. Eclose 'em.”

😂 Millennials: “I support this purchase as a form of emotional wellness.”

💀 Gen Z: “Bro really canceled winter. 💀🦋 WE OUTSIDE.”

7–8 chrysalises from Oregon: questionable impulse purchase.

Getting to watch this: PRICELESS. 🦋🦋❤️

08/10/2026

🐛 THE INTERNET: “Leave the caterpillars alone. Mother Nature will take care of them.”

🌿 Mother Nature: “Correct. I didn’t say HOW.” 😳🐝

One second, this Cloudless Sulphur caterpillar is peacefully munching away on my popcorn cassia…
A few inches away on the SAME plant, a wasp is eating another Cloudless Sulphur caterpillar alive. 💀
And THIS is where butterfly people split into two camps:

🌿 TEAM NATURE: Leave them outside. Predators and parasitoids are part of the ecosystem. Wasps need to eat too.

🏠 TEAM BUTTERFLY AIRBNB: Bring some caterpillars inside, protect them through metamorphosis, then release healthy adults back outside.

Neither side changes the reality:

Being a caterpillar is BRUTAL. 🐛➡️🦋

So…you see this wasp approaching your caterpillar.
Are you saving the caterpillar or letting nature take its course? 👇


PollinatorGarden NatureIsMetal BackyardWildlife ButterflyConservation UrbanWildlife

How the generations will probably enter the comments 😂

👴 BOOMERS:

“Leave it alone! We had caterpillars and wasps long before people started raising butterflies in Tupperware.”
“Nature has worked this out for millions of years.”

😎 GEN X:

“Nature is metal. Anyway, I’m grabbing the caterpillar when nobody’s looking.”
“I was Team Nature until I watched it get eaten alive. Nope. Get in the container, little dude.”

📱 MILLENNIALS:

“I understand the ecological importance of the wasp AND I have already named the caterpillar Kevin and moved Kevin indoors.” 😂
“Can we create a protected habitat while still supporting native predators? Asking for my emotional stability.”

💀 GEN Z:

“Bro was literally eating lunch and BECAME lunch 💀”
“Mother Nature said plot twist.”
“Caterpillar: 🌿😌✨ Wasps: your free trial has ended.”
“GET HIM INSIDE 😭😭😭”

08/04/2026

This mama spent almost 20 seconds flying under a lemon tree, searching for the perfect leaf to lay her eggs... then finally gave up and laid them on the outside instead—with a Liquor & Deli sign as the maternity ward backdrop. 🍺➡️🍋

Butterflies don't care about fancy neighborhoods—they care about host plants. If they find citrus, they'll trust their instincts and start the next generation, even in the middle of a busy city.

Proof that wildlife is thriving in the most unexpected places... you just have to look up. 👀

Do you see what I see? 👀🦋Right there... a Giant Swallowtail mama is laying the next generation of caterpillars on a lemo...
08/04/2026

Do you see what I see? 👀🦋

Right there... a Giant Swallowtail mama is laying the next generation of caterpillars on a lemon tree 🌿🍋—not in a pristine nature reserve, but beside a liquor store in the middle of the City of Orange.

Nature doesn't wait for perfect conditions. Give butterflies a host plant, and they'll find it.

Every urban lemon tree can become a tiny nursery for one of North America's largest and most spectacular butterflies. Sometimes the wildest wildlife stories happen in the places you'd least expect.

🍋 Plant native when you can. Leave a few citrus leaves to the caterpillars. You might be raising the next Giant Swallowtail without even knowing it.

07/31/2026

POV: You spend weeks raising a butterfly... and he leaves in less than a second. 😭😂 But that's the goal.

This male Pale Swallowtail knows exactly where to go—his host plant, the Catalina cherry. Nature doesn't say goodbye... it just keeps going.

🚨 Not every caterpillar gets a butterfly ending.This Pipevine Swallowtail chrysalis didn't make it. 🥺If you look closely...
06/09/2026

🚨 Not every caterpillar gets a butterfly ending.

This Pipevine Swallowtail chrysalis didn't make it. 🥺

If you look closely at the red arrow, you'll notice a large bulge where the wing case should be smooth and tightly formed. Compare it to the healthy chrysalises nearby, the difference is subtle, but it tells an important story.

During pupation, a caterpillar completely reorganizes its body into a butterfly. It's one of the most complex transformations in nature. Sometimes the process goes wrong due to genetics, disease, parasites, injury, or environmental stress, resulting in a malformed chrysalis like this one.

🌿 In the wild, most caterpillars never reach adulthood.

Predators, weather, parasites, and developmental failures are all part of the journey. It's a reminder that nature isn't designed for every individual to survive.

It's designed for the species to persist.

The next time you see a butterfly floating through your neighborhood, remember: it beat incredible odds just to take its first flight.

💙 Every successful butterfly is a tiny miracle of survival.

🦋

06/08/2026

Please tell me you see it... 👀🦋

No, not the jasmine flowers.

Not the leaves either.

There are THREE Large Orange Sulphur butterflies hiding in this photo, perfectly blending into the yellow-and-white blooms like nature's version of camouflage mode. 😆

These bright yellow butterflies (Phoebis agarithe) often perch with their wings closed, making them surprisingly difficult to spot among flowers. What looks like a petal can actually be a butterfly taking a break, soaking up the sun, or waiting for the perfect moment to take flight.

🌼 Nature fact: This camouflage helps protect them from hungry birds and predators. Sometimes the best hiding spot is right out in the open!

How many did you find before reading the caption? Be honest... did you spot all 3? 😂👇

🦋🌿👀

06/08/2026

🐛🦋 How far would you zoom in to spot a future butterfly?

At a local nursery, I was browsing the herb section when a tiny movement on a 4-inch rue plant caught my eye. Hidden among the leaves was a 2nd instar Anise Swallowtail caterpillar—only a few millimeters long and easy to miss!

These little caterpillars start life looking a lot like bird droppings, a clever camouflage that helps protect them from hungry predators. Their favorite host plants belong to the carrot family, including rue, fennel, parsley, and dill.

It's a reminder that even a quick trip to a garden center can turn into a wildlife safari if you slow down and look closely. 👀

🌿 Next time you're in the herb aisle, check the rue and fennel plants—you might discover the next generation of butterflies hiding in plain sight.

🦋🌿🐛

06/05/2026

POV: You're at Bass Pro Shop... and accidentally find a hidden butterfly nursery.

🔎🦋 Come egg hunting with me!

Most people walk right past these shrubs without a second glance. I see a butterfly nursery.

This is Calliandra haematocephala (Powderpuff), a common landscape plant found all over Southern California shopping centers, parking lots, and strip malls. Today's search took me to the Powderpuffs outside Bass Pro Shop, where I scanned the fresh bronze-colored leaves for tiny treasures—the eggs of the Large Orange Sulphur butterfly.

The secret? Female butterflies almost always choose the newest growth. Those tiny cream-colored eggs are perfectly placed where hungry caterpillars will have the freshest leaves waiting when they hatch.

But nature's camouflage game doesn't stop there...

Halfway through the video you'll spot a Large Orange Sulphur chrysalis that looks almost identical to the leaf it's attached to. Its shape, color, and even the subtle leaf-like veins help it disappear in plain sight from hungry birds and predators.

🤯 Imagine being able to hide so well that people stare right at you and still don't see you.

Next time you're at a strip mall, look a little closer. You might be standing next to an entire butterfly generation and never know it.

🦋 Have you ever found butterfly eggs or a chrysalis in an unexpected place?

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