Swallowtail Memories

Would you believe Swallowtails (Papilio machaon) in my airing cupboard? Well it's true. My late father and I used to breed and raise them at our home in Reydon ' m~y years ago. I was then entrusted to release them on Filby Broad in Norfolk. We used to choose rhis particular location because we had seen them there over many years and what is more, I could easily get to the water's edge in my little open-topped car! Sometimes I would take father's friends to watch the release who included the likes of Claude Morley, Baron de Worms and H. Chipperfield. On looking back it must have seemed strange to my schoolfriends that together with these 'odd' gentlemen, I used to paint trees at night with black treacle and use a 1amp to attract moths but it was so enjoyable - and the summers seemed to last from Easter to Christmas time! Breeding the Swallowtails used to be no problem. I remember making cotton wool and gauze 'mice' soaked in sugar water for feeding the adults. We used to have 50 or so caterpillars in the airing cupboard although mother was not amused! Once eventually hatched, father would often paint sugar onto his hand to attract these beautiful creatures out so that he could place them into containers. Sometimes they flew out. What a sight it was to see them flying around the room. What great days they were.

Swallowtail Me01ories

by Peter Baker

Swallowtail (Papilio machaon)

Thankyou for this contribution Peter. What fond memories you must have and in the company of such eminent Suffolk NaturalistsEd.