Big, colorful and entertaining. Swallowtail Butterflies are another sign of spring. They all start out as caterpillars, and in 9b it's fairly easy to attract them to your garden. You just need to provide their favorite food(s) in masse and a sunny area for them to eat and grow.
Swallow Tail Favorites (an edible butterfly garden if you will):
Luckily, both of these clumping herbs are happy to be sown "directly", so your investment is probably about $6 (estimating $3 a pack). Any leftovers, you can use 'em for your salads...
Right around late April, early May, you should see these beauties begin to appear. A few little caterpillars can start to decimate your parsley patch, so plant lots (not hard to do, I promise).
For the little ones, wait til the caterpillars get nice and big (as pictured above). You can then capture one or two, put them in a clear glass jar with some more parsley, a little stick, and cover with aluminum foil. Pole holes in the top and secure with a rubber band...wait for them to cocoon. About a week or so later and they emerge as a giant, beautiful Swallowtail Butterfly. If you're there to watch them hatch, it takes them close to an hour for their wings to be fully functional and dry. The little ones have a lot of fun having the newly emerged butterfly crawl on their fingers and spread their wings while they dry.
The Result:
Happy Spring To You...
Right around late April, early May, you should see these beauties begin to appear. A few little caterpillars can start to decimate your parsley patch, so plant lots (not hard to do, I promise).
For the little ones, wait til the caterpillars get nice and big (as pictured above). You can then capture one or two, put them in a clear glass jar with some more parsley, a little stick, and cover with aluminum foil. Pole holes in the top and secure with a rubber band...wait for them to cocoon. About a week or so later and they emerge as a giant, beautiful Swallowtail Butterfly. If you're there to watch them hatch, it takes them close to an hour for their wings to be fully functional and dry. The little ones have a lot of fun having the newly emerged butterfly crawl on their fingers and spread their wings while they dry.
The Result:
Happy Spring To You...
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