Showing posts with label animal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label animal. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Petfinder Post: Japanese Chin, Black & White Cats

Moving through the list of dog breeds the British Bossyboots want to ban, we come to the Japanese Chin breed. This is not a common breed in the US; Petfinder has a page for the breed, but not every city has even one dog listed as a Chin or crossbreed. 

The closest "relative" to the Chin would be the Pekingese. These two breeds have sometimes been considered the same, but in the US, recently, breedrs have selected for different traits. Pekingese dogs average shorter and heavier than Chins.

The Japanese Chin is a terribly cute breed--long-haired, flat-faced, standing up to 11 inches high at the shoulder and weighing up to 11 pounds. Chin is said to mean "catlike dog," referring to these dogs' small heads and self-cleaning behavior. Owners rate these little dogs high on behavior and personality. They tend to get along well with other pets and with children.  However, the short snout is not really a functional trait for a dog, and some additional problem genes have bred in. Breeders are now trying to breed tendencies to health problems out of Chin bloodlines. Meanwhile, though small dogs generally are likely to live more than ten years, these particular small dogs average only ten to twelve years. Their average health is not as good as a Chihuahua's or small terrier's. Improving the breed's average health might mean sacrificing their small, flat, "catlike" faces.

The most disturbing condition a Japanese Chin dog might inherit is gangliosidosis, a progressive, fatal neurological disease that's been compared with Tay-Sachs Disease and with mad cow disease. Affected animals' behavior changes, with gradual loss of muscle control. Dogs who have this condition are usually euthanized. The American Kennel Club recommends having a Chin's DNA tested to find out whether the dog is likely to develop gangliosidosis. These little dogs tend to bond with their humans, so watching the disease develop in a pet is heartbreaking.

More common problem genes are also present--the heart, joint, and eye problems that are common to inbred pedigreed dogs of all types. 

Because their faces are relatively flat, Chins are vulnerable to breathing problems. Obesity aggravates this tendency and must be prevented. Panting being the only way dogs can cool down, Chins can have a very hard time in hot weather. 

Having long silky coats with super-long hair (6-7 inches) on neck, tail, and hind legs, these dogs need brushing at least twice a week and bathing when the coat starts to smell bad. Their floppy ears need cleaning, too.Their toenails are said to grow faster than other dogs' nails and need trimming. If this extra grooming time is likely to be more of an inconvenience than a bonding experience for you, you should adopt a different kind of dog. 

Active, stubborn, and hard to train, Chins like to take rather short and slow walks with their humans and run around a fenced yard. Because they're easy for drivers not to see, vulnerable to predators, and also unlikely to heed instructions like "come back" or "stop," they must not be outdoors off a leash. They enjoy learning to do tricks, and they like to be clean, so some aspects of training may be easy...while other aspects of basic dog training continue to baffle the experts. It is very difficult to get Chins to do anything they don't want to do. They happen to want to stay close to their humans, stay clean, be groomed, and learn to do things that entertain their humans; this in no way implies that they ever signed a contract to consider humans' opinions about what they shouldn't explore. They benefit from half an hour's walking (altogether) with their human every day. During this time, experts say, the trick is for the human to learn to get the Chin to believe that it wants to do the same thing the human wants it to do, and good luck with that.

The current condition of this breed sounds like a regular old mess of problem genes and dysfunctional traits, but those genes have been bred in and can be bred out. Still, along with our general policy that animals with dysfunctional genes should be adopted since shelter and rescue organizations usually demand the animals they place be sterilized, adopters should realize that breeders offer sterilized animals for adoption (directly, or through organizations) when those animals have problem genes. Sometimes that can mean a throwback to some look that isn't "typy" enough to satisfy breeders but may be healthier than the look breeders want. Sometimes, especially with a problem-prone breed, it means the worst form of the breed's distintive genes. Adopters are advised to have a Chin's DNA tested. 

Purebred Chins are two-tone dogs. They come in a range of shades of brown and white, too, but the best known pattern is black and white. (Black and white Chins sometimes have reddish brown markings and might be described as tricolored.) So today the cats we consider are black and white.

Zipcode 10101: Minnie from Middletown 


People who breed and fany animals with dysfunctional traits often seem to me to lose some of their humanity. Minnie, we're told, snores and makes "the cutest little noises" as she struggles to breathe, though otherwise she's quiet. Really. I wonder whether the person who wrote that description ever had COPD, or a relative who did. I wonder how person would feel about someone who described human coughing and wheezing as "cute."They don't mention the results of any DNA test she's had, but want you to fill out an application to pay $800. They specify that, although Chins generally do reasonably well with children, Minnie should not be around children.

Juice from Tennessee by way of Suffern 


Found badly injured beside a road, Juice ran up a big vet bill (probably more than the $150 adoption fee--the organization probably accepts donations). She's cautious about new people, understandably. Nevertheless, her photo gallery shows the attitudes of a kitten who intends to be a Queen Cat. She's friendly once she decides to like you. 

Zipcode 20202: N/A 

There's no Japanese Chin dog or crossbreed currently listed as adoptable within 100 miles from the zipcode 20202. But there is an extra one in Georgia so why not consider...

Extra Listing from Zipcode 30303: Sasha Sam from Alpharetta 


Sasha Sam has been through some hard times. It's affected his pawsonality. Though house trained, crate trained, and leash trained, he's wary of new people; he goes into barking fits if exposed to noise, and he may completely freak out if exposed to anything unpredictable such as children. 

No information is available on whether gangliosidosis could have anything to do with his hypersensitivity. I'd want that DNA test done before I tried to get to know this dog. 

Jessica from Reston 


The $190 adoption fee covers mandatory veterinary care including things, like microchips, you might not agree that she needs. They also stipulate that Jessica must be adopted by someone who's at least 21 years old and together with another kitten. (Kittens are easier to live with when they chew affectionately on each other instead of making an unsatisfactory substitute of your shoe.) They just happen to have a large selection of potential foster brothers for Jessica. Take two, they're small. 

Zipcode 30303: Dior from Dallas 


That's Dallas, Georgia. Dior is a Georgia girl and is available for local adoption only. Just sixteen months old, she's had standard veterinary care, including spaying. She has done well with other dogs, cats, and small children. She is young and full of energy. Her adoption fee is $400.

Winston & Yurman from Chattanooga  


Despite having different coat types these two "Tuxies"have decided they are brothers. Winston has long hair and is more sedentary. Yurman has short hair and is bouncier. They like to nap together. Social cats like to nap with other cats of similar colors, possibly for camouflage. They can be adopted together for $300. 
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Monday, October 12, 2026

Butterfly of the Week: Heraclides Erostratus

This week's butterfly, Heraclides erostratus, is also called the Pale-Spotted Swallowtail or the Northern Black Kite with Pale Spots. It is found in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. It's big enough that its always apparently having been rare seems a good thing, but it is now a threatened species.

There are three subspecies. The nominate subspecies, H. erostratus erostratus, is found from Chiapas south to El Salvador. 


Photo by Johnvandort, Honduras, August. Fore and hind wings can move independently.

H.e. erostratinus is found in eastern Mexico.


Photo from Butterflies of America.


Photo from Josesgh, Mexico, August.

Veins can stand out clearly, giving the wings a pleated or ribbed appearance.


Photo from Torres-Sebastian, Mexico, October.

H.e. vasquezae is found in western Mexico.


Photo from Butterflies of America.

None of the subspecies has ever been very common, anywhere, in recorded history. Males, however, don't seem to make themselves hard to see. They are said to roost along the shrubby edges of trails, about a meter above the ground, and fly up as people pass by. 

The Swallowtails were supposed to be named after heroes of ancient literature. Possibly someone who read a reference to Erostratus, or Herostratus or Eratostratus, quickly thought the best known man who used this name was a hero; or perhaps there are other less known men by the same name, one of whom was a hero. The best known Erostratus in ancient Greece was an arsonist who burned a temple for no good reason.

The butterfly has never been all that destructive. It has not been studied in depth, although it appears on many lists. The Citrus it favors are wild trees that grow in forests, typically an an altitude of about 5000 feet (1500m). 

It is a large, dark Swallowtail with only one band of spots around the eds of its wings. Males' spots are sometimes red and yellow; females' are usually white and pink. The butterflies fly all year, with a peak in one month followed by a trough inthe next month suggesting that there may be six generations each year. The highest peak month is August. Males do some composting and are easily photographed at puddles. Both sexes pollinate flowers. 

Caterpillars are said to travel in groups and eat the leaves of trees in the genus Citrus, but do not seem to be a pest or even a nuisance to farmers. These butterflies keep to themselves and give no one else any trouble. Humans should only take a similar attitude to them.
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Tuesday, October 6, 2026

Petfinder Post: Great Danes and Large Cats

Great Danes are another dog breed the Bossyboots of Britain want to render extinct. They're another large dog that, though usually gentle and mellow, are kept to intimidate intruders. They're not America's favorite breed, but they're popular enough that most people have probably known one. At least most Americans are familiar with one on television: Apart from his cartoon superhero talents for saying words in English and unmasking criminals disguised as ghosts, Scooby-Doo was a fairly typical Great Dane.

Should people breed more Great Danes? Arguably not. They certainly don't fit into the apartments the Socialists want to herd everyone into. They're not the smartest or most interesting canine companions, too big to be easily transported or bathed but not nearly big enough to win any size records, not very long livers. They've been called "the heartbreak breed" because they age fast and normally live less than ten years. They are vulnerable to several medical conditions, including a tendency to swell up and die from indigestion as well as heart, bone, joint, glandular, and neuromuscular diseases, and may be more likely than other dogs to develop cancer. They seldom bite, but often intimidate people--often enough that some landlords won't rent to people who live with Danes.

"Gawrsh," you say. "Why would anybody want one?"

Because they're there, and they need loving homes, and for a few years they love you back. With a minimum weight of 100 pounds for females, 120 pounds for males, and a rangy body that may stand 7 feet tall when the dog stands on its hind legs, Great Danes are often bigger than their humans--as are many of their humans' humans friends, the Great Danes' humans tell us. You don't mind dating a person who is taller than you are if person is otherwise pleasant to be around, you don't disown your children if they grow up bigger and taller than you, so why would you mind living with a dog who stands taller than you do? Anyway there's something to be said for a dog who will prowl through mean streets with you, guard your house at night, and, if anyone suspicious approaches, knock the person over and lick his face unmercifully. Person is neutralized as a danger to you but, unless he went down unusually hard, in no danger while you flee and/or summon help. Great Danes aren't aggressive but an intruder who gets aggressive with one deserved what he got. They can bite when provoked. They are strong.

Great Danes like to walk with their humans, and they like to sit and lie close to their humans. They can be trained not to rest right on top of you if it affects the circulation when they do, but that is a typical Dane's preference. They're one of the lighter breeds in the mastiff group; they still eat a lot. They need grooming, normally, just once a week (except in spring); there is still a lot of dog to groom. They usually need more visits to the vet than smaller dogs do, and they're no treat to load in and out of cars. But they are patient, kind dogs who offer unconditional love.

Because some Great Danes have heart disease, advice about activity for this breed can seem schizophrenic. Exercise just before or, worse, after meals may precipitate fatal indgestion. Letting a young Dane trot beside you on pavement may damage its growing bones. On the other hand healthy Danes like a good brisk walk, and some Danes thrive on an "athletic dog" lifestyle and participate in competitions. Ask your vet about your dog!

Great Danes and crossbreeds aren't the most common breed in shelters but, because they are just more dog than some people can deal with, they are fairly easy to find in shelters. People are always suffering financial reversals, injuries, opportunities in cities, and so on, and leaving dogs behind. Big dogs are more often left behind than small dogs. 

Along with this photo contest for adorable adoptable Danes, why not a contest for extra-large cats?

Zipcode 10101: Dredd from NYC 


Dredd is a crossbreed; he weighs only 52 poounds. You can get to know him as a foster dog before making the commitment to adopt him. Foster families place dogs more effectively and humanely than shelters can, but you do have to agree to meet new people who are interested in adopting the dog if you don't. 

Cheeta from NYC 


Not fat, just big, Cheeta gives audiences to potential adopters right in town. You need to be over age 18 and have an extra-large carrying cage and litter box. Cats like him usually behave like ordinary house cats; they were born as ordinary house cats but, for no obvious reason, they just kept growing back to the size that was typical of their ancestors. They startle strangers. They purr and cuddle just as normal house cats do. 

Zipcode 20202: Duke from Silver Spring


This one's also undersize for a Great Dane at only eighty pounds. He is known to behave especially well with toddlers and cats. The object inthe foreground is another dog's tail. That other dog would be his brother Cash, who was also available for adoption when the web page was set up. 

Baby Mr Grey from Alexandria 


He's a "misfit" because he's one of those giant cats who started out as normal-looking kittens and just kept growing to the size of their ancestors. Our house cats have been intentionally bred down to the midget end of the size range for their species. Norwegian Forest, Maine Coon, and Manx cats often revert to the full size; even Domestic Short Hair cats ocasionally do, and this one apparently has. Through no fault of his own his head comes up, when he's sitting down, to a level most cats have to be standing on their hind legs to reach. These extra-large cats typically behave like other house cats and don't give much extra trouble, as long as the litter box, carrying cage, etc., provided for them are big enough for them to use comfortably. 

Zipcode 30303: Bearon from Alpharetta 


Bearon may be in the clutches of control freaks; they mention wanting to visit your home, or if you're further away communicate with another animal rescue organiztion from which someone has visited your home. They do reasonably want to make sure they're not sending this 65-pound dog to live in a flat where the terms of the lease prohibit large dogs, although Bearon is only half the size of a show-quality pedigreed Great Dane. Bearon generally behaves well around other animals and children, but he can be a little too protective of his space and toys, so they recommend him only for homes where he'd be the only pet.

Azula from Decatur 


Being in a shelter for months, facing daily rejection, has made this great big fluffy cat a little wary of strangers, but she does like being brushed and admired. Her web page doesn't say whether her "secret crush" was on another cat. I'm guessing that means it was--and he's already been adopted.
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Monday, October 5, 2026

Butterfly of the Week: Heraclides Epenetus

This week's Giant Swallowtail is as little known as last week's species is well known. Heraclides (formerly Papilio) epenetus lives in Ecuador and seems good at avoiding humans.

Possibly because of its retiring habits, this species was not named after the usual war hero, but after a saint. Epenetus of Carthage is somewhat obscure in Western Europe and the United States; he is remembered mostly by the Eastern Orthodox church. The name is mentioned in the Epistle to the Romans. According to various non-Biblical writers, Epenetus was one of the seventy disciples Jesus sent out as advance publicity, who are generally thought to be Jewish, and/or he came from Ephesus and was the first Asian convert, or maybe he managed to be both. He spent his mature years in Carthage and was elected bishop there.

The butterfly named after him is one of the "giant" swallowtails, with a wingspread of about four inches, sometimes more. Its only known host plants are citrus trees. Nevertheless, its life history is undocumented. 


Photo by Josh Vandermeulen, Ecuador, February.


Photo by Jonathanaguirre, Ecuador, May. A female? It seems interested in leaves...

According to https://www.loja-zamora.eu/es/fiche-papillon/001-Papilionidae/001-Papilioninae/005-Papilionini/001-Heraclides/022-epenetus/_ , male and female can look pretty much alike, but the male may have a brown, yellow, and orange color scheme while the female is more charcoal gray, white, and red. Both sexes have on the upper wing surface, and to a lesser extent on the under wing surface, a row of pale-colored spots outlining the difference between inner wing and wing tip. These spots may or may not be conspicuous, and the inner wing surface may or may not be much darker than the tips. 

Caterpillars are said to be gregarious and eat citrus tree leaves, but are not common enough to have been described as a pest species. Their preferred species may be wild trees; caterpillars who live in the treetops in forests are easy for humans to under-look. While biig tropical caterpillars have enormous appetites and eat enormous quantities of leaves, tropical plants grow fast and may even benefit from an occasional leaf stripping.




 
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Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Petfinder Post: Glen of Imaal, Bassets, and Manx

Last week I asked whether it was Petfinder or Microsoft that was interfering with this web site's bringing you photos of adoptable Dogues de Bordeaux, or crossbreeds. On the Tuesday morning, it was Microsoft. By the Friday night...I'm seeing clear evidence that Petfinder is under attack by the control freaks who want to censor domestic dogs into extinction.


Like this little crossbreed. More about him below.

Speaking personally and frankly as a pet owner, my recommendation would be that people looking for a good pet expose themselves to animals of the species that appeals to them--friends' pets' puppies, kittens, etc., shelter pets, Petfinder features--and see for themselves that, even if they have preferences about size, color, and coat type, it's easiest to bond with a mixed breed. Given their choice, animals will breed out funny-looking dysfunctional mutations and produce healthy offspring. Not only will natural selection do this; animals who aren't forced or desperate will usually choose healthy mates who don't share any defective genes they may carry. Thus our Serena consistently rejected tomcats who showed the Manx gene until one winter when the only breeding male in the neighborhood showed that gene, and gave birth to a kitten who died from the effects of the Manx gene rather than, as usual, the Seralini gene.

(Having kittens is Serena's best chance, as a Seralini cat, to survive all the drive-by spraying to which we've been subjected. She has not been feeling well this summer. If she didn't have the Seralini gene I'd think she might be more comfortable being spayed; since she does have that gene I know she might not live a year after being spayed. Silver's still alive, but she's not the beautiful healthy cat she used to be. We've all been poisoned. With overtly, admittedly, murderous intentions. Why I think so little of the men who are currently alive may have something to do with the fact that one of them is trying to kill me, under the terms of a loophole that shouldn't be in the law, over a small patch of land that's not even arable, and I've yet to see any of the others doing one thing about it. Well...the one who might be expected to do something is over eighty years old and has been poisoned too. I expect online readers are at least leaning hard on all of your elected officials to close the loophole, making it illegal to use or sell "pesticide" sprays outdoors. They have been and are used to injure and kill human beings. I have some names. And if the busybodies gave a dahm about animals, they'd stop whining about dog breeds and focus on those poison sprays.)

Anyway, mixed breeds tend to be healthy and lovable and, if you're not obsessed with a specific breed's look, appealing to the eye. But that's only one side of the coin, here. As Americans we need to be concerned about censorship. We must never allow censorship to work in the way the people who demand it want it to work.

There are some breeds of animals whose look depends on genes that I'd agree should be bred out of the pool. Bulldogs? Absolutely. Manx cats? Totally. Sometimes the lethal gene can be bred out while the valuable traits that go with it, other than a freaky look, are passed down separately through a line of normal-looking animals. Serena's grandfather had a defective tail, but although the Manx gene is dominant, Serena is only a carrier; she has a normal tail. If the fathers of her kittens also have normal tails, and the Seralini Effect doesn't turn fetuses into mere self-cleaning mechanisms for the mother's body, the kittens will be healthy. Meanwhile Serena is an American Short Hair, if on the wide-framed side, known to have a Manx grandfather and a Siamese great-great-grandfather, and she has all the best features of all three breeds. It's worth getting to know crossbreed dogs, too.

But that's before the busybodies stomped onto the scene, screaming for suppression of any mention of the breeds they hate--even beagles (maybe they got some funding from Anthony Fauci?). Right. Until the busybodies have stepped forward to confess, repent, and atone, it would be a good thing for human society if people intentionally adopted dogs of those breeds. If the look is in fact dysfunctional, then adopting those dogs from shelters where they've all been sterilized anyway is a good option. 

Failing that, one can also adopt them from responsible breeders who sterilize the puppies who show the worst problem genes--the bulldogs who not only can't swim and have trouble breathing in hot weather, but also inherit heart or eye disease, e.g. 

Either way, the individual dogs may not live as long as dogs of different breeds born in the same year, but so long as they're not in pain, they can be valuable to society by making a statement about censorship. We can burn up the Internet with pictures and stories of what wonderful pets our beagles and corgis and spaniels are. We can show the would-be censors that interest in dog breeds rises when idiots squeal that they want newspapers to stop printing pictures of certain types of dogs. The censored newspaper have, I believe, already learned how much censorship is costing them. We all need to work to remove any possible pay-off from any kind of censorship.

In the case of dogs whose breeds are defined by defects, like the next breed on our list, the ideal thing would be to rescue the dogs from shelters. Free shelter space for other animals in need, and choose a dog who won't be adding any more problem genes to the pool to parade past a bossyboots' house every evening. 

Petfinder is trying, with this next breed...but people are sabotaging efforts to get these dogs neutered and adopted.

The first breed I looked up today was the Glen of Imaal Terrier. This is a small, somewhat defective dog that was first bred in a remote rural corner of Ireland. I had never heard of it before the name turned up on the list of breeds the would-be dictators want to render extinct. There are some obvious problems with the breed; few Americans are interested in it. I was surprised that Petfinder even had a page for it, but they have one.

Shelters and organizations associated with Petfinder have created a total of three pages for Glen of Imaal Terriers in search of homes in Washington and eleven in New York. And all fourteen pages are in aid of exactly two dogs. Both are crossbreeds. I was able to get a photo and web page address for the gray dog, shown above; his web page at 


...is likely not to work by tomorrow morning. Enemies of the US Constitution right here in the United States have tampered with most of the web pages set up to help these two lovable little crossbreeds find homes. Other pages for these two dogs didn't work. Some opened messages saying the pages did not exist. Some redirected back to the main page with all the mixed breeds, which I thought could probably be guaranteed an effective way to steer someone looking for a specific type of dog straight away from rescue organizations, running to a breeder. People yapping for censorship in the name of animals do not, in fact, give a dahm about the animals. They are all about control.

The Glen of Imaal Terrier has a look defined by a gene for a type of dwarfism. It's a full-sized dog on miniature legs. Short legs both reduce the efficiency with which terriers can dig and reduce the size of the tunnels they need to excavate to dig out rats and other nuisance species, so their overall effect on survival may be neutral. Nevertheless, to most people a purebred, truly typy GIT looks ridiculous.

A show quality GIT is a little over a foot high at the shoulder, weighs 30 to 40 pounds, and is likely to live ten or fifteen years. Most owners give these dogs full marks for affectionate bonds with the family, high marks for behaving well with children, and average ratings for relationships with other pets--terriers have been known to eat other pets who were smaller than the terriers. Tendencies to joint, eye, and neuromuscular diseases run in some bloodlines; responsible breeders will sterilize the dogs who inherit these genes and at least tell you what you're adopting. The coat needs brushing and the ears need cleaning once a week. (The American Kennel Club recommends buying a "grooming table" for a GIT; they don't recommend this expense with every breed.) Grooming is necessary to keep the coat from forming mats that harbor fleas; GITs don't shed much. They need frequent exercise but will flop down when tired, before those stubby little legs can carry them very far. For the first year puppies should be protected from jumping off furniture or going down stairs. They're intelligent enough to be easy to train, can be stubborn about training that goes against their instincts, and are not known for bonding with other dogs. All terriers are built to run and hunt differently than other types of dogs; few could run very far with a pack of hounds and collies, but the Glen of Imaal Terrier is sometimes said to be more independent than other terriers. I have seen homeless terrier and spaniel type dogs running in their own little packs. But some, not all, GITs attack other small dogs. 

Problem? GITs like to be with their humans. When they're left outside in a fenced yard, see something they want to chase, and burrow out under the fence, then there may be a problem for neighbors' pets and potentially for your GIT. If your dog stays near you or indoors where it can't get out, there should be no problem.

There aren't a lot of GITs in North America and there probably don't need to be more. There aren't a lot of the next breed on the list, either. Petfinder doesn't even have a listing for Grand Bassets, but it has plenty of Basset Hounds. We looked at them last spring. There are enough Bassets in shelters that we can look at them again. 

Bassets are also good-sized dogs on short stubby legs. And they have long floppy ears, which busybodies don't like. They are also prone to the delusion that they can sing, which your neighbors may not like. 

Since I found three cute Persian cat photos last week, this week I'll go with Manx.

Zipcode 10101: Tigress from Corpus Christi by way of Ridgefield, New Jersey 


Part Basset and part Labrador Retriever, Tigress is unlikely to be mistaken for any other dog. When that photo was taken she was not quite 6 months old and weighed 32 pounds. She's probably bigger than that by now and likely to keep growing. She is described as a sweet, gentle, affectionate pet. Neither Bassets nor Labs are known for cleverness, but she can probably learn basic dog etiquette if people are patient and gentle with her.

Cressida from Mississippi by way of Oakland 


Typical gray tabby Manx, Cressida likes to make up her mind about when or whether to snuggle, but when she lets her inner snugglebunny out to play she makes people feel loved. 

20202: Beau from Jarrettsville, Maryland


Have you seen a more classic Basset? This young hound is described as a sweet pet who needs some work--basic training, ideally with a better trained senior dog companion. He's prone to stray and needs lots of walks, with a double leash, to burn off his adolescent energy and a strong deep fence to keep him from being a nuisance. He does well with cats. He does not do so well with men or children. So he's not for everybody, but he'd be a great pet for some people.

Sasha from Herndon 


Sasha is available as a foster pet! She likes to take her time getting to know people. While she's getting to know you, you can get to know her, free of charge. If you can bear to part with her, you can help her find a purrmanent home. 

30303: Gelato from Carrollton 


This Basset-terrier crossbreed is just five months old--a friendly, bouncy, yappy puppy who likes going for walks and running up to the fence to greet other dogs. He needs someone who can discipline his enthusiasm without breaking his happy spirit. 

Jinx from Winder 


This cute, quiet, slightly shy kitten has no tail at all. If you love her, which you probably will, you'll have her spayed. She takes her time about deciding whom to snuggle up beside. If she chooses you, you will know you've been chosen. 
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Monday, September 28, 2026

Butterfly of the Week: Eastern Giant Swallowtail

"Giant Swallowtail" refers to different butterflies in different countries. Jamaica has a Giant Swallowtail that is more gigantic than Heraclides cresphontes. Florida's Giant Swallowtail is, however, the biggest butterfly normally found in the Eastern States. 


Photo by Aabge001, February, Florida. For a long time, the Monarch and the Tiger Swallowtail could claim to be the biggest butterflies most people in the Eastern States would ever see. (They have different shapes, and individuals vary; some Monarchs, including all that I've seen, are bigger than some Tiger Swallowtails, but Google says Tiger Swallowtails hold the records.) The Giant Swallowtail is bigger than either--at least in Florida. 


Photo by Jim at MarylandBiodiversity.com, taken in Maryland, in July. In the twentieth century this species was reported only from Florida and south Texas, but it has now been found in most of North America.



Photos by Terrymortier, Wisconsin.


Photo by Robert Rold, Kentucky.

For a long time it was believed that the Giant Swallowtails that occasionally infest California orange groves were straying H. cresphontes, but the caterpillars look different at some stages and the adults' tail ends look different, so they are now classified as a separate species, H. rumiko. We shall consider the Rumikos, or Western Giants, in their turn. 

Meanwhile, this chart (scroll down as necessary to see the chart) explains the typical minor differences in color markings on cresphontes and rumiko. H. thoas typically has an even wider yellow stripe across the upper forewings. Swallowtails can be variable. It can be hard to tell the species of a living, flapping butterfly. Reportedly the tail ends of the males can be identified by touch, but who wants to touch a butterfly's tail end? (They don't sting but they do stink--or, depending on your species, smell irresistible. People who handle moths and butterflies have been mobbed.)


H. rumiko was identified after the tradition of naming Swallowtails in honor of characters in literature had broken up; it was named after a researcher's wife. H. cresphontes, however, was named early enough for its name to make sense at least as wordplay. Heraclides means descendants of Heracles (the Greek form of the name) or Hercules (the Latin form). Cresphontes was said to be the descendant of that character. Aristodemus and Temenos, his brothers, are also commemorated in the names of Heraclides species. One of the butterflies' favorite food plants is Zanthoxylon clava-herculis, or Hercules' Club. Humans notice them more often on citrus trees, but Zanthoxylon is classified in the citrus family. 

The easiest way to tell the Eastern Giant from the King Swallowtail, H. thoas, in places where both are found, is to inspect their tail segments under a magnifying glass. Traditionally very large black and yellow Swallowtails found in Florida have been presumed to be cresphontes. This is not necessarily always the case. Butterflies get around. Heraclides thoas is normally found further south, but has been found in Florida and Texas. Heraclides cresphontes have strayed up into the Northern States and even Canada. There is a variant form called pennsylvanicus. They also fly as far south as Brazil. 


Photo by Johnslowry, August, Ontario.

It's possible for H. cresphontes to expand its range to places where oranges don't grow because, although they eat orange leaves, they can eat other things. We didn't always know that the caterpillars can survive a few frosts before pupating. Now we do. They can eat the leaves of rue, hops, prickly ash, and a garden plant sometimes called "gas plant." Naturalists reported finding them in Northern States in the nineteenth century, but in the twentieth century the population had retreated into Florida. It appears to be rebounding. 


To believers in some theory of climate change, this looks like evidence. However, climate has not changed all that much. Orange trees aren't growing in Canada. In fact, the butterflies do not require Florida-type temperatures to survive, nor do they depend on orange trees, as we used to think. It seems more likely that a parasite, predator, or pathogen that wiped out the northern, prickly-ash-eating population has ceased (for the moment) to prevent this population from reappearing. The northern population may disappear as quickly as it appeared--even if the greedheads build data centers that cause serious local warming. 

In Florida Heraclides cresphontes flies all year, but it is consistently most abundant in August.

Male wingspans are usually 4 to 5 inches; females' are usually 4.5 to 6". The record is 7.4". Wing markings are usually similar for both, with some differences from thoas that seem to be consistent but not conspicuous. 

Along the southern tier of the United States this species has four generations a year, a generation lasting about 67 days. Wikipedia still affirms the old belief that they are only capable of "overwintering" in Florida or at least the Deep South, but we now know that they adapt into the pennsylvanicus form: Further north they adapt to a four-seasons climate, pupating after a few frosty days and eclosing in spring. Adaptation includes that northern caterpillars grow to a smaller size, and butterflies are likely to be at the small end of their size range too. Giant Swallowtails who have always lived in the North are not necessarily bigger than Monarchs or Tiger Swallowtails, after all. They can still mate with true Giants; their offspring could develop as true Giants if taken back to Florida.


This Massachusetts caterpillar has molted through four previous caterpillar skins and is ready to pupate at just two inches long. Photo from UMass.edu. 

Heraclides cresphontes is found at elevations from sea level to almost 4,000'. 


Photo by J-Stauffer, August, Florida. Like the Atrophaneuras, these big Swallowtails can move their fore and hind wings separately. They fly somewhat slowly, with pauses between wing beats, but strongly. 

Unlike many Swallowtails, males of this species tend to fly into the woods looking for females. Females spend most of their lives looking for host plants for their eggs, like other Swallowtails. In nature their preferred trees grew in forests, but they'll fly through open country and lay eggs on garden plants too. Populations can become established wherever they find enough host plants to start a colony. 

They are pollinators. Favorite flower species include 

"
 Schinus terebinthifolius, Bouggainvillea glabra, Bourreria ovate, Carica papaya, Eupatorium odoratum, Lantana involucrate, Metopium toxiferum, Morinda royoc, Pithecellobium keyense, Lantana camara, Senecio mexicana and perhaps Delonix regia
"

...in Florida. (Quote from Delano Lewis.) In New England, they like

"
purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), common and swamp milkweeds (Asclepias syriaca and A. incarnata), joe pye weed (Eutrochium spp.), blackeyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), blazing star (Liatris spicata), and summer phlox (Phlox paniculata). Non-natives like butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii), zinnia (Zinnia elegans), and Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) will also attract the adult butterflies.
"

(Quote from UMass.edu.) They are also known to like milkweed and azalea flowers. They may sip at almost any flower once.

Males do, however, do some composting. Here an Eastern Giant Swallowtail joins Eastern Tiger Swallowtails sipping brackish water off a dead animal.


Photo by Richard Orr, Maryland, in May.

At the Reiman Gardens, Heraclides cresphontes also roosted together in same-species groups at night. 



Photo by Bill Bouton, Arkansas. 


Photo by SpecialMoth9897, May, Florida.

The female in a couple is usually bigger, but the most reliable way to identify females is that they lay eggs. If you have a clear photo of the underside, though, or don't mind handling the animals, Giant Swallowtails are big enough that it's possible to see whether an individual has retained "clasper" appendages at his tail end (male) or not (female). With a magnifying glass it's possible to see these features on smaller butterflies too.


Photo by Jeffrey S. Pippen, North Carolina.

Eggs can be more than a millimeter in diameter, and, although the female butterfly usually tries to place one egg on one leaf, she may place several eggs on a leaf if not sure where to find other host plants--so this species annot be foiled simply by planting other trees in between the orange trees. Eggs are whitish when freshly laid, reddish when about to hatch.  


Photo from the University of Florida's FFL Gardens. Eggs and caterpillars are most often found on the top sides of leaves, though not always.

Hatchlings eat the shells from which they emerged. Even before they've done that they seem ready to go into their "Back off or I'll stink at you" display.


Photo by SoCalButterflies (which means it might have been H. rumiko). 

Caterpillars can be over three inches long,, and have long, bright red osmeteria. Their nickname is "Orange Dogs." They can be a nuisance, occasionally even a pest, in orange groves. Warts and markings between the head and the hump can look like tiny faces; the caterpillars are variable and their "face" markings can be quite amusing--or alarming, depending on your point of view. They can look like miniature snakes, dogs, lizards, even alligators. Some individuals have "face" markings on their tail ends as well.


Photo from Enciclovida.mx showing that in addition to the typical Swallowtail humpback, the caterpillars can have wide knob-shaped end segments. Or not.


Caterpillar on hops leaf in Ontario. Photo by N. Zitani.


Photo by Mark Eanes, August, Maryland.


Photo by Kent McFarland, Vermont. 


Photo by Dorian Atchison, April, Florida, when the caterpillar appeared to be aggressively defoliating a small lemon tree. (It was feeling aggressive all right! Note the fully extended osmeterium. This species seem to display their osmeteria freely. The odor is described as sour, pungent, foul, unpleasant, detestable, and like a stinky cat litter box, though recognizably derived from citrus oil.) The trees usually survive their depredations. If stripped in spring, they still bear fruit next winter.


Photo by Christopherswan, September, Ohio. Not related to the horned-devils, this Orange Dog probably wouldn't mind being mistaken for a horned-devil. However, his "horns" subside back into his neck in a few seconds, and none of his little bumps and warts has even a bristle. People who don't mind the odor have been known to stroke and handle these caterpillars. (The caterpillars probably hate that.) Several of his bumps are paired and might look like eyes to a predator, but he's presenting the back of his neck and what is probably as close as a caterpillar can get to shoulders. The face faces down, jaws parallel with legs, directed toward a caterpillar's main interest--food. Caterpillars get no rewards for being pretty or nice. The most repulsive survive.

Photo by Andrew D. Warren, Florida. Siblings don't seem to harm each other in the wild, but here we see them warning each other off their feeding space. At GBIF.org there is also a disturbing picture of caterpillars of different ages left without food in a container, in which the two biggest caterpillars are trampling on the three smallest and threatening the middle-sized one. This species does not seem to develop the instinct to seek safety in numbers before pupation. It's easy to leave captive caterpillars without food, since fifth instar caterpillars eat so much, but it is cruel...especially when they may smell traces of chewed-up food inside a younger cousin. The SoCalButterflies post above confirms that caterpillars who are over an inch long are likely to eat smaller ones,though again that might be more true of rumiko than of cresphontes.

It is possible that Orange Dogs are considered pests, not so much because they reduce the orange harvest (they can, but not all that much) as because they are disgusting to orange harvesters. Like Zebra Swallowtails, they will rub their osmeteria against anyone perceived as an attacker and may spit to raise the squick factor even higher.

People who really hate these caterpillars--admittedly the caterpillars make that easy--have sprayed chemicals on them, with the usual results. Bacillus thuringiensis can kill the caterpillars, painfully, when they are young enough; it's cruel to watch. Methionine, an amino acid thought to be an essential nutrient for humans in its natural form, is being synthesized and tested for toxicity on Orange Dogs. As a guess that will work as well as other attempts to poison the little beasts have done. Most people like the butterflies. If humans think they have too many, they probably have too many. Simple predation is actually good for overpopulated butterflies. No caterpillar has ever evolved resistance to tongs or shears.

But some people, like this Brazilian butterfly fancier, actually keep the caterpillars as pets. The video has captions and some spoken content in Brazilian Portuguese. The captions say that the caterpillar called Poop grew up to be handsome--or pretty--whichever. I'm guessing "handsome" because, as a butterfly, he "adored" his human's face and hand. Male Swallowtails like human sweat and need to drink mineral salts in liquids so that they can mate; females need only find a mate to start offloading eggs. A male would be more likely to stay close to a known source of salty liquid for a few days, a female to flit away as soon as she could.


This is a longer, more sciency video, produced in the US. Nice scenery and fun facts if you want to watch a 45-minute video.


Pupae are about two inches long, grey and tan, camouflaged as short thick sticks.



Photos from garden.org.


Photo by Miscelaineous, May, Texas.
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