What's Eating My Parsley?
If you have an herb garden that contains parsley, coriander/cilantro, dill or fennel you may be lucky enough to see one of these:
The black swallowtail butterfly uses members of the Apiaceae family as host plants. The adult butterflies lay their eggs on plants of this family; when the caterpillars hatch, these plants serve as their primary food source. Members of this family of plants include- in addition to the herbs listed above- carrot, celery, parsnip, and the common white wildflower Queen Anne's Lace. The caterpillar seen above was photographed in my garden this morning. It is a late instar and is nearly ready to pupate. (If it was a younger caterpillar, it would have small spikes on its body.) The adult black swallowtail butterfly, shown below, is common in our region. Given how attractive this butterfly is, I don't mind sacrificing a little parsley to feed the caterpillars.