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SoCalButterfly For the enjoyment of nature

09/21/2026

When your lunch comes with a built-in invisibility cloak. 🐛🌿

These Large Orange Sulphur caterpillars are happily munching on Calliandra haematocephala—and doing their best impression of the leaves they’re eating.

That green-and-brown camouflage isn’t just cute. Blending into the foliage helps make caterpillars much harder for birds, wasps, and other predators to spot.

Boomers: “What caterpillars?”
Gen X: “I see them. Don’t touch anything.”
Millennials: “Nature’s original stealth mode.”
Gen Z: “Bro literally became the salad.” 💀
Gen Alpha: “CAMO LEVEL 100.” 😂

Meanwhile, the Calliandra: “I know EXACTLY where they are.” 🌿😭

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. 🦋🦋❤️

🚨 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.

🦋🌿🐛

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