Take a look at these hungry hungry Black Swallowtail Caterpillars on the Bronze Fennel that self-seeded from my yard to the sidewalk median strip. (Click on them for larger size views.) I found a few more tucked back in the plants, though not as photogenic as these three.
They're hungry little critters! A few years ago we experienced "The Case of the Disappearing Dill," caused by Black Swallowtail caterpillars.
ReplyDeleteooh, the dill disappearance must've been disturbing - at least the Bronze Fennel here is plentiful and as I'm not really using it, I'm happy to share
ReplyDeleteI think they're beautiful! When I was a kid, I raised one on Queen Anne's Lace flowers in a large maoynaise jar with a piece of wire window screen in the bottom so the flower stems could be in water without the chance of the caterpillar drowning. I got to watch it go through the whole life/transformation cycle from caterpillar to butterfly and then I let it go. One of my earliest successful "science projects"... without a classroom!
ReplyDeleteThey'll go after parsley and carrots, too -- all the same family of plants. We have been known to pluck them from our carrots and place on the more-disposable dill, which self-sows all over our vegetable garden!
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