Yes, you read that correctly. It’s ROUND THREE of my garden feeding black swallowtail caterpillars. The first round ate my dill in July. I found round two on my curly parsley about two weeks ago. Yesterday, I found round three on my flat parsley.
I am NOT an insect lover of any kind, but these caterpillars are so pretty, and the butterflies even more so. Look at this little guy eating. (I tried to take a video of it but it didn’t come out well.)
Black swallowtail caterpillar eating parsley
In my last post on these critters, I mentioned I petted them. Well, I found that when they feel threatened, red antennae poke out of their heads in an attempt to frighten an attacker. Pretty cool. Here’s a picture of the antennae as they’re being brought back in. (They’re larger than this, but I had to whip out my phone to take a picture!)
Black swallowtail caterpillar antennae
I love that my garden is helping to sustain these creatures. The butterfly population is dwindling along with the bees. Anything to help increase their numbers is a definite help to gardeners. (See Attracting Pollinators: Butterflies and Attracting Pollinators: Bees.)
Do you have any interesting critters in your garden?
Sanctuary Gardener 