We thought this was a moncarch catterpillar but now we aren't so sure. It looks a little different than the pictures in our nature books.
It was in the pot with our purslane although it didn't seem interested in eating the purslane. It just walked round and round the rim of the pot. It was so pretty that we just let it be. I usually don't appreciate caterpillars in my flowers!
Laura
Here is another picture.
Laura
Well, we figured it out ourselves! A black swallowtail.
Laura
Got any parsley or carrot or Queen Anne's Lace you can stick it on? Bet it's hungry!
Or it may be finished eating. Many caterpillars go into "wandering" mode when they are ready to pupate. They leave whatever they were eating and wander around until they find a suitable place to make a pupa.
But putting it on a host plant couldn't hurt - if it's done eating, it'll just wander off again. Here in Georgia, my black swallowtails also like bronze fennel. I don't have any yet though - they are late this year.
Well, we can't find him. Hopefully nothing ate him! We have been looking around each day to see if we can find him or his cocoon. I have never seen one before. Is this the 'season' for them? Should we be seeing more?
Laura
