 |
| This caterpillar turns into a black swallowtail butterfly |
What a discovery I made this weekend - I found this creature noshing on my parsley! Turns out this green gobbler is the precursor to the black swallowtail butterfly. I recall seeing one of them fluttering on my terrace a few weeks ago. Who knew she was dropping her eggs on my greens. I am so amazed that these bugs, which seem to be randomly flitting about, can suss out the exact plant on which to host their offspring amid the inhospitable concrete jungle. How did she find my little patch of parsley - the preferred diet of the black swallowtail? Unfortunately, I didn't want to sacrifice my parsley (this thing eats amazingly quickly and would have polished off the whole plant in a day or two) so I plucked it off and plopped it in the green space beside my building. Alas, there was no parsley planted there, but I hope it will find a suitable alternative. And yes, I feel a little guilty...
 |
| Black swallowtail butterfly |
3 comments:
it is amazing how the natural world is so connected...I have tons of bees visiting my terrace daily...
you did the right thing, though!
If you put it in a "green space" with no parsley, it died. It can't eat just any old green thing. It must have specific plants: Queen Anne's lace, fennel, dill, parsley, rue. They are also blind, so they are pretty helpless if they are taken off the host plant, even if there is other food around. It's hit or miss for them to even find it. Please consider this the next time you see one on your parsley.
If you put it in a "green space" with no parsley, it died. It can't eat just any old green thing. It must have specific plants: Queen Anne's lace, fennel, dill, parsley, rue. They are also blind, so they are pretty helpless if they are taken off the host plant, even if there is other food around. It's hit or miss for them to even find it. Please consider this the next time you see one on your parsley.
Post a Comment