If you build it, they will come

I never thought I'd be so excited to see some animal munching up my plants. But when a second crop of caterpillars arrived this month, I was honored that they would dine on my fennel. My efforts at gardening for butterflies seems to have finally paid off!

"Pupating" Eastern Black Swallowtail

In my driveway, I later saw a Eastern Black Swallowtail who had recently emerged from the cocoon! I spotted the empty cocoon on the side of the garage. (By the way, these cocoons don't look anything like mystery cocoons I've spotted on my rose bushes ,which are probably bagworm.)

Another swallowtail cocoon- by Lenses

The butterfly was still wet-winged and struggling, so I moved it to a sunnier, safer spot. I hope it survived to flutter around like this Eastern Black Swallowtail I photographed last summer.

You may also be interested in my previous posts on butterflies and butterfly gardening:

Butterfly Garden Plants

So a Butterfly flies into a bar...

Why flowers come in colors

South Carolina butterflies

Tiger Swallowtails