How long does the pupa stage of the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly last?
When full grown, a larva will find a “special” spot to pupate – under a leaf, but not often on the food plant as it would risk cannibalism by another larva. After weaving a silken girdle and attaching itself by the tail to the leaf (by a “cremaster”), the larva shrinks to become a grey-brown “pre-pupa”. After a few days (usually 2) the skin splits and the pupa (green in colour) pulls free from the dead skin and re-attaches itself to the leaf, held by cremaster and central silken girdle. The pupa remains very still (tiny wriggle sometimes!) as the butterfly develops inside it for about 28 days (during warmer moths & depending on temperatures in spring, summer or autumn) or up to 250 days (in “diapause” over winter, depending on rainfall cycles and temperatures). In a normal spring, the spring emergence of adults occurs in September and October, but sometimes extends till December when drought prevails. There are approx. 2 generations of adults per year with a litle overlap during drough
