On Mon, 30 Jun 2003 10:40:02 -0400, DigitalVinyl
wrote:

The other day I spotted a mostly black butterfly in the garden. I was
surprised to find it very attracted to some of my parsley. After some
research I ID'd as a female Black Swallowtail. SHe was laying eggs,
which I can spot in between the curly leaves.

Now I have more parsley growing than I can use So i would have no
problem letting the ones on this plant grow--but am I inviting a
voracious catepillar into the garden by doing this? I'm sure they
would probably eat far more than that one bush of parsley.

I always called the caterpillars "parsley worms", although they're
equally fond of dill. The 'pillars are nearly as decorative as the
butterflies. They don't seem to invade much else. And while they can
really chow down a lot of parsley/dill, they appear to cocoon rather
quickly after having a few good meals. Unlike squirrels, they don't
spoil a fruit and move on to the next.