Now for the big question, is this an earlier stage BST cat or is it something else?

Yes, that's an early-stage BST cat. Aren't they cute? Congratulations!

Congrats, congrats, Rick!

I don't know what it is with black swallowtails, but I rarely ever see an adult. I just find the cats on my hosts plants every now and then. 'Guess they're just sneaky. :)

They're beautiful caterpillars and beautiful adults!

Sherry

I hadn't seen a single butterfly, BST or otherwise, in probably weeks, but then one day these caterpillars showed up on the parsley. So apparently they're still around somewhere!

I have also never once seen Mama Butterfly in the act, despite getting quite a few batches of these cats over the the years. I had been checking this particular parsley frequently ever since I got it, but then she shows up when I lapsed for a bit. It's like they know somehow. :) I'm wondering if the butterfly I released last Sunday will come back someday to lay eggs on the (newer) parsley that fed her during her last roughly 24 hours prior to purging, but even if she does, I probably won't see her either!

This post was edited by alex928 on Thu, Jul 24, 14 at 21:24

Two beautiful caterpillar photos.