The larva of the beautiful, Black Swallowtail butterfly. Congratulations! They use plants in the Apiaceae family like parsley, dill, fennel, zizia.

You can "tent" the plant with tulle or something similar. Anything larger and the bugs and wasps that consume them can get to them. You can also raise them in things like a enclosed mesh hamper, that preferably one with a top on it so that nothing can get inside. You will need to provide them with fresh food daily, and when they get larger, maybe 2X a day, and clean the frass (caterpillar poop) out of the container. They will grow and shed their skin about 5 times until they form a chrysalis.

Enjoy!

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: Black Swallowtail Life Cycle

Awesome! I was thinking that may be what they were, but most pictures I found had the green. Very nice link, thanks! I'm definitely going to have to rehome them as the plant they are on is only about 4 inches tall. They are so small and looks like they will make quick work of it before too long. Off to do my research and decide what to do next. This will be our first experience in raising, I'm very excited. The kids are going to love this!!

Ut oh... now I'm worried about feeding. This parsley plant isn't going to last long at all and it's the only one I have. At first I thought no biggie, I'll stock up at the grocery store... uuhh, seems to be a very bad idea. I have carrots growing, so could borrow some of those greens, but not many of those either. No fennel, dill or rue. I found the host plant listing here, but can anyone point me to a listing that maybe has native plants (Central Texas) that I may be able to use? I think I will run out of hosts plants much quicker than these guys will need. Worried a bit now. Thoughts?

Queen Anne's Lace is a common native hostplant.

Be careful about getting parsley and such from the grocery store -- pesticides can be an issue. There have been previous threads about this issue, and a search might get you some tips.

You could also purchase a pesticide-free parsley or fennel plant from a nursery, BUT be careful to go to a nursery that knows their stock well. Home Depot is a roll of the dice -- even though they might not use pesticides, there might be something from the supplier.

Jeff

A lot of nurseries carry fennel and dill. I don't worry too much about these plants, Jeff, because they are edibles, and much has been discussed here about using them. I would be more worried about feeding them Rue straight from the nursery, since it is not an edible. Lisa had a bad experience with that last year. Fennel and dill should be okay, though. But like everything in life it is a risk, altho personally speaking, I think it would be a relatively low one.

If you find these plants at a nursery, one good indication is a plant that already has caterpillars on it. Always a good sign the plant has not been sprayed.

You currently are seeing the early instars of growth on your caterpillars. Eventually, in about the 2nd instar they will exhibit the black, yellow, and white stripes that people most typically recognize in a Black Swallotail larva.

If you don't have anything else to feed them, trying the fennel, dill, or parsley in the Herb sections of most nurseries, would probably be your best bet. You may have to purchase several small plants, though, for them to reach maturity on them.

Susan

...because they are edibles, and much has been discussed here about using them.

You're absolutely right. slaps head

Unless they use Bt? Just to add to the back and forth :)..
Elisabeth

Troublemaker! Heehee!

I doubt they use BT on their herbs. Most garden centers and nurseries now know the Black Swallowtail caterpillars and enjoy them as much as we do. I know the nursery I go to is so excited to have them, they just leave them on the plants and a lot of people puschase them, kinda like those little Christmas trees that are already decorated. I think that the BSTs have created an elevated consciousness of the life cycle of butterflies. I just wish they'd carry milkweeds!

Susan

Another hostplant is goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria),a variegated groundcover.It looks nothing like other members of the carrot family,except for the flowers.

Mock bishop's weed is a fairly common roadside weed that's in the carrot family. I planted it in my garden, and I've found black swallowtail cats on it. It looks like dill and fennel - if you get desperate, you can search roadsides for it.
Here's a link.
Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: Mock Bishop's Weed