A couple of weeks ago I went to water my plants and discovered my parsley had been eaten by five caterpillars.
They had orange and black stripes. The detail was amazing. As I watched they continued to eat my parsley. 
I couldn't believe one day the plant was bushy and the next day it was twigs.
So I decided to do a bit of research. These are probably black swallowtail caterpillars. These would turn into beautiful butterflies. 
If you touch these guys an orange structure that looks like horns extended by the head. Never saw anything like it. Then I noticed a very odd smell coming from the plant after the caterpillar had extended it's orange structures. It was a scent......to stay clear. Every time I touch the caterpillar it's horns would come and and the scent would be noticed. After watching my friends for two days they disappeared. I am now watching for the Swallowtail Butterfly to visit me in my yard:)
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3 comments:
I can't decide if this is really interesting or really creepy...a bit of both I think. I do love butterflies, so I guess this is just part of the process!
Eeeeeeeeeeek caterpillars eating your plants!! Haha, at least they will be beautiful butterflies!
I don't know what got into my parsley plant this year but the yield was next to nothing.... SO different from last year.
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