While weeding the garden yesterday I found the same Black Swallowtail caterpillars we kept last year. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Swallowtail There were many of them. They were loving the huge patch of parsley in our garden.
Here is a great view of it holding the stem. This little guy wasn't bothered much by Austyn moving it around. Usually they spray a stinky smell but this one just wanted to rest and we were able to lay it on the table for a long time while we prepared some jars. It didn't feel the need to go anywhere.
The first three were very large. Then I looked closer for smaller caterpillars. After all of my research last year for the kids, I remembered what they look like when they are smaller and found one before it turns green.
This one was darker and more of a medium size. Right after we caught it it molted right before our eyes. I tried to catch it before the skin reached the end but this was the best I could do.
These caterpillars are so easy to care for. They need fresh leaves from any plant that is in the same family as parsley, carrots, fennel etc. There are many weeds around that have a parsley like look to them and these little guys will eat any of them. We use to take it up to the races last year and pick the weeds out of the grass. Last year we kept the chrysalis in the jar and when the butterfly emerged it stuck to the bottom not allowing the wings to fully open. So, this time we have our handy-dandy home-made butterfly cage ready for us to move the chrysalis into.
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