Caterpillars on my Dill

They're probably black swallow tail butterfly caterpillars. If you want to save your dill move them over to some parsley that is ready to bolt.

George

George is right. I have them on mine. I plant extra for them.

BTW...if you touch them, they will exude a gawd-awful pungent scent on your fingers.

Charlie

Or it might be anise swallowtail.

Wait til those caterpillars get bigger--they're really gorgeous. And so are the butterflies--flying flowers.

"Tim" expounded:

I get them every year. They're gorgeous!

They'll eat them down to the nubs. They'll resprout leaves after the caterpillars leave (which they will)

You need to grow more dill Seriously, I've got it sprouting all over the place (because I let it set seed), I just pull it from where I don't want it. This way they get all the dill they want, and so do I. I think I counted six out there yesterday.

Black Swallowtail

Thanks Charlie

If you don't reward beauty, it disappears.

Thanks all for the knowledge. I definitely think they are the Black Swallow caterpillers (very young). I'll leave them be on three of the plants and see if they'll leave the fourth alone.

Tim

Plant some parsley or Anise and move them. They are most likely Tiger Swallowtails.

Just move them gently. :-)

Wear gloves.

See if you can find some parsley plants at the nursery. They do just fine on those. I never have allowed them to stay on the dill weed as I use too much of it, but moving them won't hurt them.

And Like I said, Anise works too.

| > Should I pick them off? How much damage will they do? | >

| > I wouldn't mind have more butterflys, but not at the expense of dill. | >

| > Tim | >

| > "The words of the songue should have three gatekeepers: | > Is it true? | > Is it kind? | > Is it necessary?" | > -Arab proverb | >

| >

| They're probably black swallow tail butterfly caterpillars. If you want | to save your dill move them over to some parsley that is ready to bolt. | | George |

I always plant extra dill. It grows like a weed. ;)

Kimberly

I really need to get out more...I totally misread the 'Dill' when I first glanced at this thread...

Charlie expounded:

Thanx, Charlie, for the links. I'll check mine out tomorrow, although I think they're the Anise Swallowtails here.

I'm curious. Maybe I'm the only one to have done this. I smell a lot of things, I mean I sniff things.

The Black Swallowtail catepillars, when gently touched, poke out their antennae, or whatever they are called, get all kinds of defensive and leave a smell on your finger that is really .......pungent.

Have you done this, and does the Anise Swallowtail react (and smell) this way?

Care Charlie

LOL!

Yes, maybe you should get out more.

-Tim

Self-defense against predators. :-) Those antennae things exude a nasty tasting (and smelling) substance.

No, I've never tasted it!

Monarch butterflies are also toxic and will make birds sick if they eat them. It teaches them to avoid brightly colored things.

Toxicity seems to come with bright colors in some animals. The poison arrow treefrog is a perfect example.

Charlie expounded:

I was wrong. I found smaller ones that look exactly like the younger ones on the Black Swallowtail page. So I can't tell you if they smell or react like the Anise Swallowtail. Sorry!

But I do enjoy them!

They are beautiful caterpillars.

I have a very small herb garden. The first year I let the black swallowtail caterpillars be and they ate my dill to a nub in no time. The dill never recovered, as it gets VERY hot here in the summer. So, the 2nd year I resorted to dusting the plants with BT :( BT is a bacterium which is toxic to caterpillars, but not to people, so it's safe for herbs.

Good luck!

Tim wrote:

It's called an osmeterium, and all swallowtails have one.

get all kinds of defensive and

The reason that they get defensive is because the wasps that want to parasitize them like to lay their eggs on the back of the caterpillar's head, where it can't reach around and pick the parasite egg off. The osmeterium (the orange forked organ) is on the back of the caterpillar's head where it has the best shot of deterring the wasps with its pungent parsley fart. In my experience it's not a very effective way to deter wasps. Unless I find the pillars by the 2nd instar, latest, when they still look like a tiny bit of bird poop, there's almost no chance that a wasp hasn't got to it. I found one in my parsley and put it in a bug box with as much food as it wanted. It's pupating now. Should be out in a week or two. Then, after a photo op, I will release it, of course.

Hope it hatches for you!

Any chance at controlling the wasps in your area? You can get wasp traps!