CLOSED: Is this a "good guy" or a "bad guy"?

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chicochi3 Fayetteville, AR(Zone 6b) Sep 03, 2006

I found this caterpillar on my rue plant today. Does anyone know what it is?

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chicochi3 Fayetteville, AR(Zone 6b) Sep 03, 2006

Here's another angle

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Magpye NW Qtr, AR(Zone 6a) Sep 03, 2006

Looks to be the Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) caterpillar ..

See > http://bugguide.net/node/view/4745 .. and .. http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabambc/construct-species-page.asp?sp=Papilio-polyxenes

Quoting:
Larval Food Plants: Members of the carrot family (Umbelliferae) including cultivated species such as carrot, fennel, parsley, celery, and dill on which the large, handsome caterpillar is sometimes a pest; larvae are said to grow faster on cultivated species! Also many wild umbellifers, especially the abundant alien weed Queen Anne‘s Lace (Daucus carota).

- Magpye

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chicochi3 Fayetteville, AR(Zone 6b) Sep 03, 2006

That definitely looks like it. And I have those butterflies all over the yard! This critter definitely is eating my rue, but it's tough enough to deal with it, so if it makes more butterflies, that's fine with me!

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Magpye NW Qtr, AR(Zone 6a) Sep 04, 2006

Those beauties have such an awesome array of colors on them too ..

- Magpye

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