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Every year I plant parsley and dill in my gardens.
I like to use the rich, green parsley plants to edge my butterfly
garden beds. But I plant them for much more than the color.
Several species of swallowtail butterfly caterpillars
eat plants in the carrot family which includes: carrots, parsley,
dill and Queen Anne's Lace. You have probably tried delicious crunchy carrots.
But I bet you've eaten parsley and dill, too. They are often added
to foods like soups, stews and stuffings for flavoring. Parsley
is laid on dishes as a garnish. Dill is what makes dill pickles
... dill. I noticed that a few of my parsley plants had
lost nearly all their leaves. I saw this beautiful caterpillar
resting on a stem.
I am glad I did not bother it.
"The caterpillars
have a forked, glandular process behind the head that can be everted
to emit a strong odor distasteful to predators." Arthropod
Museum Notes
 Caterpillars Contrast
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Black swallowtail caterpillar (parsleyworm)
Papilio polyxenes Fabricius
Comparing exercise / Contrasting
exercise
See
a photo of the butterfly |
