This isn't my picture,the ones I tried to take this evening just didn't come out any good. But I was wondering around the garden after we got home and found four of these beauties munching away on the Fennel Plants, they are the caterpillar for the Black Swallowtail butterfly. To have more of those beauties in the garden I will gladly sacrifice a Fennel plant or two.
I'd let those caterpillars eat my fennel too Toni. :-D They are really lovely and so colourful. You must try to snap some piccies of the butterflies when they appear in your garden.
What a neat looking caterpillar Toni! I do think that if I found one it might freak me out a little though! When I find Tomato Hornworms, they really gross me out!
They are really something! Are you going to let them wonder or put a butterfly house over them? Do you get many swallowtails? I've never seen one around here so it would be tempting to capture one for a moment.
I planted extra fennel this year for these guys. When agitated they throw out little orange "horns" that put a weird citrusy scent in the air.
I planted some parsley in my butterfly garden with hopes of having some of those! Beautiful picture! I have some little Gulf Frittaries that I am raising inside. They've grown so much!
The four caterpillars on the Fennel plants have disappeared. The last time they were seen they were large, roughly two inches long and fat from eating Fennel. I am now on the hunt for a chrysalis or four hanging around somewhere. Also, found another caterpillar this morning on a Rue plant several feet away from the Fennel. This one is less than an inch long for now but munching happily on Rue. Between the two Fennel and four Rue plants, maybe momma black swallowtail will establish quite a nursery in my garden this year. Never had any luck getting a decent picture of them on my plants tho.
Ahhh! Good luck finding them! I've never been very good at finding a chrysalis (intentionally). If you find it, please post pictures!
I have raised quite a few Black Swallowtail Butterflies inside. I attract them with Rue, also. Today I found 3 tiny Black Swallowtail caterpillars on a Queen Anne's Lace flower (first time I've had them on this plant). The caterpillar stages are very interesting! It's much easier to find eggs or caterpillars than chrysalis (they move away from host plant and hide themselves, I think).
