Papilio polyxenes

Papilio polyxenes
The (eastern) black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes), also called the American swallowtail or parsnip swallowtail
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papilio_polyxenes

 After our tea party friend had given me 3 lovely black swallowtail caterpillars, I found I already had many on the parsnip plants I had pulled up and put in my compost!!!!!  I quickly pulled out the dried up plants from the compost.  Then I tried to rescue as many caterpillars as I could!  I have 4 fennel plants in 3 different locations in my backyard and some small parsnips plants by the blackberry bushes.  The homeless insects were soon placed in new lodgings.

 In front of the butterfly bush, I planted 2 fennel plants---and placed some of the black swallowtail caterpillars there.

In front of the 2 newly transplanted (from the front yard to the back yard) roses, are 2 fennel plants.  The 3 caterpillars from my friend quickly ate the fennel off one of the plants, so I had to move them to the parsnip plants by my blackberry bushes where they couldn't do so much damage so quickly!  They were very big caterpillars and had an appetite to match!  You can see the big parsnip plants that I pulled out of the compost pile laying in front of the garden.  I figured if there were any caterpillars that I missed they could have a chance to walk to the fennel plants on their own.

Out in our garden beside our celery is one last fennel plant.  I knew the butterflies might remember from last  year that we had fennel out in the garden, so I wanted one out there too.  I tried to strategically place the fennel around our yard in places where the butterflies would be sure to see it (and lay their eggs!).  I placed it by our Butterfly Bush, our roses, and in our garden.  And here they had already laid their eggs on our parsnip plants!!! Funny!  



I remember at 11 years of age, my Dad bought me chickens, ducks, and turkeys to raise that summer.  Well, I might not be able to do that for my Dd---but at least she can raise butterflies!!!  I'm sure she would MUCH rather the fowl!  But, this is the best I can do in a neighborhood.  Here are some pictures from Wikipedia to see the specific type we have in abundance.  I also found a new chrysalis on our fence too!  I'm tempted to bring it in to watch it hatch....hmmm.

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  Laying eggs on parsley

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  Eggs on parsley

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  First instar caterpillar in northeast Georgia

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  Late-instar caterpillar (without spikes) soon ready to pupate

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  Osmeterium visible after slight provocation

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  Greenish-brown chrysalis

Black swallowtail
Male
Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Papilionidae
Tribe:	Papilionini
Genus:	Papilio
Species:	P. polyxenes		The black swallowtail has a wingspan of 8 to 11 cm (3.1 to 4.3 in). The upper surface of the wings is mostly black. On the inner edge of the hindwing is a black spot centered in larger orange spot. A male of this species has a yellow band near edge of wings; a female has row of yellow spots. The hindwing of the female has an iridescent blue band. In the southwestern United States, yellow forms predominate in the subspecies Papilio polyxenes coloro. After mating, small, yellow eggs are laid, typically on plants from the carrot family, Apiaceae, including dill, fennel, Queen Anne's lace, parsley, and golden alexanders. They are also found eating rue and bishop's weed. First instar larvae grow to about 1.5 cm (0.59 in) long and resemble bird droppings. They are dark black with a white band in the middle and have spikes, with a light brown-orange ring at the base of each of the spikes in the dark region (spikes are white on the white band). Later instars grow to about 5 cm (2.0 in) and are green and black banded with yellow spots around every second black band. They have short, black spikes around some of the black bands, although these tend to disappear as the larva nears pupation.  The black swallowtail caterpillar has an orange "forked gland", called the osmeterium. When in danger, the osmeterium, which looks like a snake's tongue, everts and releases a foul smell to repel predators. Black swallowtail chrysalis The pupae may be green or brown, but not depending on surroundings or the background on which they have pupated. The color of the chrysalis is determined by a local genetic balance that ensures the majority of pupae will blend in.[2]