Caterpillars….10.18.15

I saw a Black Swallowtail flying around the yard one day so I bought a couple Parsley Plants for it to lay on. Only had one caterpillar so there must have been an egg on the plant when I bought them. They were small plants and it ate one almost completely up.

The second one had time to grow.

We got back from our boat trip (www.alwayslingerawhile.blogspot.com)   and I spotted 3 caterpillars on it. Here are two.

We also found several eggs…looks like I may have to buy more caterpillar food. I counted 10 just on this part of the plant.

I have some sprouting in my milkweed bed but they are tiny.

I took this 2 days later….they are growing up.

I have 2 Passion Flower plants for the Zebra Longwings and Gulf Fritillary's. This is a Longwing.

She lays her eggs on the tips of the vine. …in large clusters. There are 4 0r 5 that have already hatched.

This is what it looks like when they all hatch. I think there are at least 20.

  They tend to stay together.

Even at this stage they are in a group. 

This one is almost ready to find a place to become a chrysalis.

Not a very good photo but this is what it will become.

It is really  a beautiful Chrysalis.

This is the Gulf Fritillary.

This is the underside…it’s beautiful…painted kind of like a clown face.

She lays one egg on a leaf…sometimes 2 but never in a cluster like the Zebra Longwing. This one is almost grown.

 

4 small ones.

They hang in a “J” …then shed their skin and end up a Chrysalis.

and this is their Chrysalis…similar to the Longwing’s

 

I like having all the butterflies…but I love the caterpillars more.

I grow Tropical milkweed and Giant milkweed for the Monarchs and Queens….Passion Flower Vine for the Zebra Longwings and Gulf Fritillaries…and now I’ve added Parsley for the Black Swallowtails.