simy1 said:

.. and it happened in no more than five days. I was away on a trip, and
the parsnips looked good when I left. I see no caterpillars, though a
caterpillar must be because the leaves are eaten completely except the
veins. Five plants, interplanted amongst the tomatoes, are affected.
Three other were not. The main parsnip crop, 15 ft away, is unaffected
so far. Culprits? remedies? I may spray them with Sevin.

If it was a caterpillar, a prime suspect would be parsley worm (the larva
of the black swallowtail butterfly). They will feed on fennel, parsley,
dill, and other members of the carrot family (Apiaceae).

Like many swallowtail larvae, they start out resembling bird droppings.
When older, they develop an extrudable gland behind the head which
emits a strong odor to ward off preditors.

http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/johnson/hor...wallowtail.htm

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)