Last year I planted a row of parsley in my little garden. We went on vacation for a few weeks and when I returned it was gone. The black swallowtail caterpillars had eaten it to the ground. This year I planted three rows of parsley–just for the caterpillars. And instead of the parsley, the butterfly laid her eggs on the dill. I usually don’t plant dill because it doesn’t last long in the heat and humidity of summer here in Florida. Guess I’ll need to plant more next year.
The three little specs on the dill plant below are black swallowtail butterfly eggs.
I went out this morning to see if the caterpillars had changed to the next instar and they were all gone! Perhaps the birds had a nice breakfast!
This ugly guy was on my green beans and after some research I found out it is a bean leaf roller which will eventually turn into a moth. I should probably get rid of it since they eat the leaves of the green beans. But I plant the vegetable garden for the caterpillars, too, so I’m just letting him continue his munching.
This might be a gulf fritillary chyrsalis. I did some research and they look like a dried leaf. So I’m keeping an eye on it. If it doesn’t go away in a few days, it really is a dried leaf!
