Specialist caterpillars restrict their feeding to smaller, related groups of plants. It feeds on dill, parsley and carrot plants, where gardeners often find the green-and-black caterpillars. Black Swallowtail Chrysalis .....to Butterfly. Specialist caterpillars restrict their feeding to smaller, related groups of plants. How to Raise Eastern Swallowtail Butterflies at Home. An extremely similar-appearing species, Papilio joanae, occurs in the Ozark Mountains region, but it appears to be closely related to Papilio machaon, rather than P. polyxenes. Here are black swallowtail caterpillars at three different stages. The black swallowtail is a common garden butterfly that is also known for its caterpillar. Black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes). Black swallowtail caterpillars will feed on any member of the parsley family: parsley, fennel, carrot, dill, or even Queen Anne's lace. Photo Credit: ©2004 Buglady Consulting What does a caterpillar look like? I… The … They might resemble some other breeds of the butterfly but they have certain ‘beauty spots’ that makes them stand apart in the crowd of look-alikes. Mrs. Homegrown. Black Swallowtails were in the past commonly referred to as the Parsnip Swallowtail as their caterpillar food plants belong to members of the Umbelliferae, or Carrot Family. The main problem with having a large swallowtail butterfly population is the damage caterpillars do to plants. Or 2 caterpillars. Monarch caterpillars do not eat parsley and Black Swallowtail caterpillars do not eat milkweed, and if either attempted, they would not survive. A black swallowtail caterpillar was discovered on a dill plant on September 13, as seen above. I haven’t seen ANY black swallowtail butterflies. Plant balms in your edible butterfly garden for Monarchs to provide a nectar source. If you uncoil her proboscis, she will only drink if she is thirsty. Black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes). The immature caterpillars are small and black with a white "saddle" marking. The monarch caterpillar feeds only on the foliage of milkweed plants. The caterpillar attaches itself in a different manner than the Monarch caterpillar. You saw the photo I posted a few days ago. Upon further research in the insects’ section of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Web site, I found it is indeed a swallowtail caterpillar, but it’s a black swallowtail caterpillar. Or 2 caterpillars. Female Eastern Black Swallowtail Nectars on Honey Water If you do have a live female butterfly, it is important to feed her by placing her on a paper towel saturated with honey water; 1 part honey to 10 parts water. This caterpillar is packing on the grams at an impressive pace. These species are stunningly beautiful. These are a defense mechanism. I… Same caterpillar on different days. Journal of the Black Swallowtail Butterfly’s Life. Same caterpillar on different days. Papilio polyxenes, the (eastern) black swallowtail, American swallowtail or parsnip swallowtail, is a butterfly found throughout much of North America. Balm. They might resemble some other breeds of the butterfly but they have certain ‘beauty spots’ that makes them stand apart in the crowd of look-alikes. Unlike monarchs, which look pretty much the same (though not identical) at each instar (larval stage of growth), swallowtails look a bit different at each stage. A black swallowtail caterpillar was discovered on a fennel plant on September 14, as seen above. A black swallowtail caterpillar was discovered on a dill plant on September 13, as seen above. The dill and fennel plants were about 10 feet apart. Black swallowtail seems to the species of butterfly that most prefer these two highly aromatic herbs but I’ve seen several people mention that Monarch butterfly larva will eat dill in the absence of milkweed. How do you get rid of them? December 3, 2010. The Black Swallowtail Chrysalis metamorphosis is very interesting to watch. The black swallowtail caterpillar feeds on dill. Weird. Many gardeners are pretty good at identifying caterpillar insects as the soft-bodied larval form of butterflies and moths.