I believe I correctly identified this caterpillar as black swallowtail. Since this parsley is in a food garden and I want the best for both the plant and the caterpillars should I leave them or Bring them elsewhere (while obviously providing them with fresh parsley to eat)

Yes, they're black swallowtail caterpillars. I guess you could go buy the cats (or your family) some more parsley, enough to feed all of you.

Sherry

I had some of those in my parsley tub once. The kids would go out every day and see how they were doing. Then when they were nice and fat, a bird came and ate them all. :(

We had enough parsley to let them be and pick what we needed around them, but if we ever get more caterpillars, I'll probably pull them out and feed them in a safer location. Or not tell the kids.

Chrissy, these pretty caterpillars are voracious eaters so you will have a decision to make. I'd advise against purchasing more parsley from a garden center unless it labeled as NOT treated with pesticides. Rinse anything you may feed them thoroughly, with rain water, if possible.

My personal choice for my herbs is to keep a vigilant eye out for the eggs and crunch them. I don't grow a lot of herbs and am not willing to have them stripped to stems. I don't raise butterflies in enclosures as some others do.....maybe you'll get some advice along those lines, if interested.

How many do you have? If you have just a couple, you can share depending on the size of your plant but I raise them in a tent for a few reasons. First, I don't see BST in my yard like I used to so I like to encourage them. I collect them and keep them in a butterfly cube or they get eaten or parasitized. Also, they overwinter as a chrysalis so if you clean up your garden and cut everything down, you are probably killing them. You can also feed them Queen Anne's Lace. Just make sure whatever you feed them hasn't been sprayed. Even organic produce can be sprayed with BT which is meant to kill caterpillars. Do you have a community garden in town? They usually have a lot of parsley and carrots. You can ask them if you can take some clippings. You will just need a couple of stems every day or so. Plus your caterpillars aren't too far from becoming chrysalis.

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YAY!!

Sherry

Isn't that great! Makes me smile to see your enthusiasm.

I'm so glad you donated your parsley patch! Aren't they beautiful! I think it's a female.

Loretta... I was going to private msg u but either I can't figure it out or you don't have private msg set up. I was just wondering where u are in nj? Seems like we might be kinda close. I'm in Hunterdon right along the Delaware . Milford mailing address but out in the middle of nowhere.

so i went out to take pics of the little guys and caught one in the act of forming his chrysalis! I got a bunch on film too! super cool. one question... do they leave their skin outside of the chrysalis? bc it looks like this one can't fit all the way in... there's a black mush sticking out still. then I thought maybe they shed that skin as theyre pulling the chrysalis on and just drop it there... any thoughts?

They shed their skin and it falls from the crysalis. I think the crysalis is what's underneath their skin. They don't put the crysalis on, they are the crysalis once they shed their skin. Very interesting questions I've asked myself many times.

yeah it was very strange. I saw him hanging from the top of the cage earlier and he was still there this evening. super suddenly he began squirming all around and I noticed his head had a white patch on it. I went to get my phone and by the time I got back it was obvious that he was coccooning himself. it looked like he had a super tight bodysuit he was squirming around trying to get into without hands!

I love how you describe it. I had maybe 10 Monarch cats and I didn't see any of them forming crysalises. I just saw them hanging and getting ready to. You are so blessed to have Swallowtail cats. I have a bunch of overgrown fennel and rue for them, but no cats or eggs. Too bad you can't upload videos here. It would have been cool to watch yours.

Lol! That's what it looks like! Just push the skin gently to the side. If it sticks, just leave it. What material is the top of your cage? I see the one in the background hanging like a J also. It looks like a swallowtail, not a monarch? Try leaning a stick diagonally or provide something with branches well supported and see what they choose in the future. How are you going to overwinter them?

Jay, try adding a good patch of flat parsley or carrots to your garden. They like that better. Also, the fennel doesn't offer good cover. I've seen black swallowtails lay eggs all over a plant and nothing come of it.

I've raised a number of EBST in enclosures, plastic jugs and re-purposed fish tanks, as well as watched a bunch out in the wild of my backyard: I've never seen any suspend upside down like the Monarchs do, so news to me! Mine always had a preference for suspending vertically, whether on a twig/branch or even directly to the aquarium side (!), but never the roof/top.

I was so fortunate to be in the room when my second EBST started its pupation. Here are some stills from the video -- it took almost 4 minutes from the time the caterpillar skin started 'cracking/peeling back' to the time the skin was finally shed.

I'll post a few more as a separate comment, in case Houzz limits me to four images.

^^^ In this blurry, 'action' shot, the forming chrysalis starts to squirm and jerk, trying to whip the excess skin off. It'll continue twisting and turning its tail for ~ 1 minute afterward.

Another very cool stage is after the caterpillar has obviously settled on a place from which to pupate, and starts to form its suspension loop/saddle. Only one time did I see one of my cats start this process, but I didn't have time to sit an video it.

If anyone's interested in seeing this fascinating process, here's a terrific Youtube video to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcrcTL0BQds

Wow, great timing and great pictures, Javi!

Chrissy, Sorry I didn't see your comment. I have to look at my account and see but I had problems figuring out how to email on this system too or if I can. I haven't been on here a lot since Houzz took over. Your in God's country out there. It's so beautiful along the Delaware. I'm just over the border in Morris County next to Wayne.

Javi, those are nice shots. At first I'm thinking, wow look at that red sling until I realized they were arrows. I have two BST that are hanging J style. The rest are slings. One turned into a chrysalis and left the skin on. Another two are hanging off a Giant Swallowtail - which I also raised this year for the first time. They laid eggs on the rue in front of me and I got them before this guy did.

I think I've come upon monarch chrysalises before -- they're a gorgeous burnished gold color. Interestingly, that's the etymology of chrysalis, from the Greek.