This has been a different kind of year for me as a gardener. Never have I had to battle the bugs like this year! They are really attacking my zinnia crop.
Of course, some of the plants are there just for the caterpillars, like the fennels. I have one regular fennel and one, much larger, bronze fennel. The bronze plant is just loaded with swallowtail caterpillars. This means that in a few weeks we'll be full of beautiful butterflies.
The purple cone flowers in the background attract butterflies, too. Luckily the weeds are not seen in these shots.
Here's a close up of one of the big guys on a fennel bloom.
Comments (6)
Great photography, Jan! Those caterpillars sure seem like industrious little buggers (so to speak). Are you able to combat them at all, or have to live losing half your crop? Great post... thanks... Brad
Posted by Brad'll Do It | July 16, 2009 1:37 PM
Posted on July 16, 2009 13:37
Wow! The caterpillars are beautiful!
Great photos!
Posted by nancyhol | July 17, 2009 12:10 AM
Posted on July 17, 2009 00:10
I've had those exact same caterpillars on my dill and parsley; happy to learn what they are!
Posted by Annie | July 17, 2009 9:14 AM
Posted on July 17, 2009 09:14
Wonder what kind of butterflies you will have... they look like monarchs...
Great shots!
Posted by Eden | July 18, 2009 11:51 AM
Posted on July 18, 2009 11:51
Beautiful shots - I can't wait to see what sort of butterflies you end up with.
Posted by Jerry | July 18, 2009 3:51 PM
Posted on July 18, 2009 15:51
I love the swallowtail caterpillars. We had them on our fennel one year. It was so cool. We never saw the chrysalises. We haven't grown fennel in a while because its all over the garden. But I'm going to show my husband these pictures and maybe he'll grow it again. He loves swallowtails.
Posted by Marta | July 25, 2009 3:37 PM
Posted on July 25, 2009 15:37