At last! They are just in time to eat up the sweet fennel that is really going nuts. ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden )
Ohhhhh, I want some of those. I have Fennel in both the front garden and the back but no caterpillars so far. I have seen a Gulf Fritillary depositing eggs on the passionflower vine. Last year the wasps ate all the caterpillars but this year I have a zapping flyswatter thing to try out that hopefully will take care of them.
OOOOH very nice pic. It remind's me of the caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland. I probably should plant some fennel so I could get some of those neat crawlers.
Last year they devoured the fennel in just a day or two. So I planted another one. Well...and now they are huge. Hope these guys have lots of relatives and they are all hungry! Come on caterpillars... dinner is served!
Cheryl, you'll have lovely swallowtail butterflies soon. The one you took a photo of looks as if he is ready to go into the crysalis stage. Parsley and rue are also host plants to the swallowtail butterfly. If anyone wants rue seed, I have a couple of large ones setting seed that will be ready to harvest in 2-3 weeks. Let me know!
Jane... I planted the Rue you sent me, but maybe it was too late? They are growing, but are only a few inches tall.
Cheryl, that's about right for the young rue. Believe me, it will grow bigger, and next year will be about 2 1/2' tall and have a wing spread of about 18" or better. Yours may not set seed this year, but don't worry, next year it will and you'll be uprooting rue all over your garden. Oh, did I forget to mention that it self-seeds readily?
