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brown caterpillar (Canadian Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar)

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Canadian Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar
by: Moni

Utah
These are found in northern US, and every province and territory of Canada...so yes they are common in Utah.
Utah
by: Anonymous

I just found one of these as a was going for a walk. I live in Utah. I have never seen one around here before. Does anyone know if they are common for Utah?
Smelly
by: Diane

I found one of these caterpillars climbing up my back porch screen. I was so excited. I have never found a swallowtail caterpiller before. I have found alot of Monarch caterpillers.
When I went to move it into my aquarium that I use for other caterpillars.I noticed it stuck out antennas and emitted a very smelly odor.
TIGER SWALLOWTAIL CATERPILLAR
by: Moni

Jenna
Great job rearing it! This chrysalis should overwinter outside and emerge as a butterfly in the spring in Indiana.
thanks
by: jenna

thanks alot u helped alot he is in his chrysyles now.
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar
by: Moni

Jenna
Rearing caterpillars is a challenge. Mother Nature does it best.
And just so you know ahead of time, when you find a caterpillar in the 'wild', sometimes they have been parasitized....meaning another insect like a fly or wasp has laid eggs inside the caterpillar. So when you try to rear the caterpillar, it dies from the eggs inside it - not something you did or did not do...it is not something you can predict.
This caterpillar stage lasts about 35 days. And then overwinters in pupa stage...so you would not see the moth until next spring. If your caterpillar is brown then it is about to pupate.

Here is a good site for rearing caterpillars - http://www.buglifecycle.com ...click on Raising.... on the right hand side to read the various suggestions. You can also submit questions - Which I would recommend for this insect. These are folks that raise them regularly. They know a lot and are very easy to talk to.

With all that said, the basics of rearing any insect is to feed it what it wants to eat...fresh food continually (never sprayed with insecticides) . Then, when the caterpillar stops eating...they will typically go searching for a place to pupate. It is best to provide layers of barely damp paper towels for the caterpillar to pupate in between.

You might want to find a large jar or old fashion fish bowl to raise your caterpillar in. Then the container needs to be kept someplace where the temperatures are much like outside. Keep the container covered with a thin cloth or tight screen so no other insects or animals can get in to bother it.
Since you are in Indiana where the ground freezes in winter, you will need to protect the pupa from freezing. Some folks put them in the refrigerator then put a drop of water on the paper towel once a month thru the winter until the trees start to put out foliage (about April or early May). That is when you would bring the pupa container outside to let it be exposed to the normal weather and let it emerge like it might if it was in Nature. When you put the container outside... in a very protected area like a porch...put a stick in the container for the moth to climb up on.
This is a brief description and may not be enough for rearing but gives you an idea.

Please do more internet research about rearing caterpillars.
Good luck to you and your dad!

tiger swallow
by: jenna

me and my dad found it in our pool. We named him Fat Phill. We put him in a insect catcher home /hotel. We would like to see Fat Phill grow and pupate etc. What should we do?

Jenna (10yrs)

Indianna
butterfly stage
by: buggy13

I found one of those last year near my house. The day after |I found it it went into its chrysalis and a little while later emerged but was injured when he came out and could not fly. when it emerges it can have a variety of shades of yellow on its wings. there are 2 generations a year mine came out midfall.
Staten Island NY
by: Mrs Me

I had one in my pool today. I thought it was so cute, I made my family come look at it and when my husband took a picture of it ... it went up on it's tail and rocked back and forth. I'm glad I found this site because I had no idea what it was.
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar
by: Moni

Beth
Cool. That is the idea behind its coloration...is to scare predators away.
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail
by: Beth

I found one of these crawling up the side of my house today. I live in Huntsville, Alabama. I helped it on to a stick and carried it over to a tree. As I was carrying the caterpillar, it raised up on its tail and curled his head and as someone else said it was almost as if it were trying to be scary. It was actually cute... the yellow spots on the back of the head looked like little eyes...
Tiger swallowtail larva
by: Moni

Michele
Wow, what a neat experience!

It was probably heading to pupate...you will have to watch for the adult next spring!
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar
by: Michele - PA

Last week I found one of these caterpillars in my back yard. When I picked it up and put it onto my glove, it looked like it was bobbing his head from side to side. It gave me the impression that it was trying to look scary. You could see its two little eyes. It was very strong and wouldn't come off my glove so I left my glove in a patch of ground ivy. When I came back a couple minutes later, it was moving on.
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar
by: Moni

Chesne
Your brown caterpillar is a Canadian Tiger Swallowtail larva.
The mature larvae are dark green, with two spots that look like eyes on the swollen section of the body behind the head - they turn brown like yours when they are ready to pupate. Immature larvae are brown and white, resembling bird droppings.
These are found in northern US, and every province and territory of Canada.
They are found in open woodlands and adjacent areas but also in urban and suburban yards and gardens where there are lots of trees. The caterpillars feed on aspen, willow and crabapples as well as a wide variety of plants.
There is just one generation per year.
The adults feed on nectar.

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