On Sun, 3 Aug 2003 12:32:52 -0400, "shsnow"
wrote:

i have some zebra-striped catepillars who are all over my parsley -- like a
whole family just appeared one day and began camping out. they are eating
the be-geesis out of the parsley, too. are they likely to move on to other
plants? should i be concerned? should i pluck 'em off and git rid of 'em?

thanks for any help.

steve snow

Larva of black swallowtail butterflies most likely. Parsley can take
quite a lot of damage and will come back, but if you object to them,
the easiest way is to just pick them off and squash them. The will
also eat parsley relatives, dill, anise, fennel, Queen Anne's Lace,
and the like. If you don't have the right food, they will not be
there. Their relatives, the giant swallowtail (yellow where the other
one is black) munch on my citrus. Usually the mockingbirds and the
wasps get them before they grow more than 1/2 in. long.