...are all over my parsley. actually, only the stems are left. anyone have
any ideas as to what they are?

robin in durham

Black and yellow caterpillars are all over my parsley.

They could be black swallowtail butterfly larvae. See:

http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordL...wallowtail.htm

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/P..._15-07-36.aspx

http://www.boldts.net/album/BlackSwa...erpillar.shtml

http://www.uark.edu/depts/entomolo/museum/blswcat.html

Daniel B. Martin

http://www.forestpests.org/southern/Insects/3057064.jpg

It could be an orangestriped oakworm larva (see pic--the stripe appears
yellow though its called an orangestripe). We had them last year. The
worst part was they left massive amounts of caterpillar fess (poop) all
over our deck. The fess looks like tiny mouse droppings. We had so
much fess on our deck I thought it was some sort of pollen.

If it is these you might want to check any nearby oak trees b/c they can
do a lot of damage.

Good luck! Oh, and I sprayed my parsley with horticultural oil and it
seemed to keep the caterpillars off.

Heidi





robin wrote:

..are all over my parsley. actually, only the stems are left. anyone have
any ideas as to what they are?

robin in durham

That's an easy one. They are Monarch Butterfly larvae. They love parsley,
dill, queen anne's lace and fennel. I used to grow bronze fennel just
because it was so pretty in my herb garden and the Monarch's were loaded on
the plants.

Penny
NW Raleigh
"robin" wrote in message
. com...
..are all over my parsley. actually, only the stems are left. anyone
have
any ideas as to what they are?

robin in durham

http://www.geocities.com/wyllz/id205.htm


Here is a picture of monarch butterly larvae. I think they are quite
striking! I thought they only ate milkweed b/c it allowed them to
absorb a poison that warded off predators?

Heidi



Penny Morgan wrote:

That's an easy one. They are Monarch Butterfly larvae. They love parsley,
dill, queen anne's lace and fennel. I used to grow bronze fennel just
because it was so pretty in my herb garden and the Monarch's were loaded on
the plants.

Penny
NW Raleigh
"robin" wrote in message
.com...


..are all over my parsley. actually, only the stems are left. anyone


have


any ideas as to what they are?

robin in durham

ding, ding, ding, ding...we have a winner. black swallowtail butterfly
larvae. they ate 2 parsley plants in no time at all. those plans are
beside the birdfeeder on my deck. i look at the birdfeeder lots everyday
and didn't notice anything happening ... until there were just parsley stems
and the culprits could finally be seen. they're purdy; i like 'em.

thanks for all the help.

robin




"Daniel B. Martin" wrote in message
link.net...
Black and yellow caterpillars are all over my parsley.

They could be black swallowtail butterfly larvae. See:


http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordL...wallowtail.htm

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/P..._15-07-36.aspx

http://www.boldts.net/album/BlackSwa...erpillar.shtml

http://www.uark.edu/depts/entomolo/museum/blswcat.html

Daniel B. Martin