orange dog/swallowtail

[shaneatwell]

this is more of a butterfly question than fruit, but what varieties of citrus are the most attractive to giant swallowtails? or in fruit terms which citrus are most prone to caterpiller damage?

[Millet]

They feed on most citrus varieties, and other plants in the Rutaceae family.

[shaneatwell]

Yes they do. Do they have any varietal preferences that anyone has noticed?

[Oolie]

White sapote and finger limes.

They completely defoliated my young white sapote.

I stopped them, and now the tree is huge and growing quickly.

[Oolie]

I saw a small larva on the white sapote, and was going to remove it until I saw a little mantis on the same leaf stalking it.

[shaneatwell]

that's pretty cool. i had two mantis egg sacs this year and have seen some around.

for the swallowtail, my white sapote got hit hard a few years ago, but since then they seem more interested in just any random citrus. have seen cats on my mandarins and key lime this year.

[mmanners]

I've not noticed any variety preference here (Lakeland, Florida).  They are native in the area, where Zanthoxylum species are their natural food. But we seem to see them on all our citrus.

[Millet]

What MManners wrote above about the species Zanthoxylum, that must be why the Swallowtail likes the Toothache tree which is a species of the Zanthoxylum.

[shaneatwell]

I've not noticed any variety preference here (Lakeland, Florida).  They are native in the area, where Zanthoxylum species are their natural food. But we seem to see them on all our citrus.

That makes me want try try again with a Sichuan pepper tree.