For the past few weeks, I have been watching black swallowtail caterpillars in a nearby stand of fennel plants. Like many butterfly species, black swallowtails are picky about what they eat. They prefer host plants in the carrot family, Apiaceae, which includes parsley, fennel, dill, Queen Anne’s Lace, and of course, carrots. Fennel smells like […]
Tag: Black Swallowtail butterfly
Black Swallowtail Butterfly Metamorphosis
A striking male Black Swallowtail . . . the first of its kind to emerge in my barn studio last year. I was lucky early May to see this female attaching an egg to a Bishop’s weed leaf along the garden path. She may well have overwintered here in her pupa state. After she flies […]