This bright green and black fellow was noticed as we were about to pick parsley. A few years ago my over-the-fence-neighbor was lingering over his parsley and espied one of these guys, plucked it from its grasp on the little leaves, declared it a plague and dashed it to the ground. I thought it was the precursor to a monarch butterfly and my heart was crushed.

My son and I did some research and learned that this was indeed going to be a butterfly: a black swallowtail.

The research began and there was a lot to learn. Step-by-step we decided we were going to figure this butterfly stuff out.

And so we started the butterfly journey.

 

 

Monarch butterflies, the orange and black beauties you see fluttering above, thrive on milkweed. The swallowtails we were seeing, love parsley, dill and fennel.

We closely inspected the small leaves that were filling the pot, and found … eggs. Tiny golden pearls that soon hatch into minute black critters with white markings. We began collecting the leaves with eggs and kept them in Talenti plastic ice cream containers. Soon everyone had their own condo, with or without a roommate.

 

 

And they ate and ate and grew and grew. And pooped and pooped. Good composters! The jars must be kept clean as  the frass in the abodes can make them sick.

At one point we tried some store-bought parsley and then read that it can kill them; it is true. PESTICIDES! Makes you think about your food. We lost a few little guys after they hatched.

Here they are a few days later … each day there is visible growth.

 

And before you know it, they are bigger and bigger. They have cute little feet and hold onto the parsley stems.
They can’t be picked up or touched as we can transmit diseases.

 

 

 

 

©Susankalish iPhone XS max/Moment Macro lens or Camera+2 app macro setting

Continued here