Thank you everyone - Swallowtails are well worth the trip to their home turf.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Finding the eggs and caterpillars was a real bonus too, and the following day I went back to see how they were doing.
Saturday 11th June. I managed to be back at Strumpshaw before 8am, but it was quite cool that early and only some of the Small Tortoiseshells and Red Admirals were up and about.
At least I knew the Swallowtail early stages I'd found wouldn't have gone very far, so I returned to the same spot. The little caterpillar was now happily chomping at one of the milk parsley leaflets...
...and the adjacent egg was showing signs of life - the tiny caterpillar within had started to eat its way out and had created a hole in its eggshell.
Here they are together.
I watched it move back across to yesterday's position where it produced a piece of frass.
Nearby, I found another caterpillar next to the half-eaten eggshell from which I assume it had emerged earlier.
The two eggs I'd found next to one another the day before had turned even darker and must have also been close to emergence. They resembled nothing so much as tiny blueberries!
Around 9am, the adults appeared again on the Sweet Williams in the Doctor's garden - along with some companions. The size comparison (if one were needed!) with the Small Tortoiseshell is noteworthy.
I also found one of these shots was actually what Wurzel might have dubbed a "threefer", with a Painted Lady in the frame as well.
A pity the nearby very ancient Peacock didn't join them...
A few more shots of the Swallowtails on their own.
Finally, I returned to the sheltered glade which had been the source of much of the images from the day before. Sure enough, the same butterfly was once more in residence. However, I had a piece of luck today when the insect settled just a bit lower down than usual, opening its wings as the sun was in. By dint of getting the camera to focus on the butterfly from below and then continuing to point it at the butterfly as I raised it above my head, I managed some better shots. Though the butterfly was a near perfect example, it had somehow settled with a bit of leaf wedged between its hindwings - but there was nothing I could do about that! The most full-on shot was also spoiled by the camera inadvertently shading the lower part of the wings as the sun came out a bit, as I couldn't actually see the subject!
This shot managed to avoid that pitfall though, but was a fraction more oblique.
A great way to end a couple of days with the Swallowtails.
Dave