Wait, Wait! There's More!

As it turns out, our two little caterpillar friends are more interesting than we first thought. After a little reading it turns out that they've got good genes.

This one will go from this awkward, teenage stage::

To this::

{a black swallowtail butterfly • image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons}

The female swallowtail will lay her eggs on plants that are part of the carrot family – including dill, fennel, Queen Anne's Lace and parsley! We read that they're only defense mechanism is a forked gland called an osmeterium. When they think they're in danger, the osmeterium, which looks like a snake's tongue, comes out and releases a foul smell to repel predators.

Not being content with book knowledge alone, we went outside to provoke our little visitors. . .because, you know, that's how we are. . .

Not being sadists, we are now officially leaving them alone to do their business while we just watch and wait. Hopefully there will be more pictures to come, as we become foster black swallowtail mamas!