My oldest son found a colorful caterpillar entering the "J" stage in the grass by our herbs, on July 30th. We carefully moved the swath of grass onto our screened porch table, and watched the caterpillar form a pupal skin and chrysalis. The chrysalis hung by a silken thread. Almost two weeks later... an Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly emerged! I used my Audubon guide to identify her as a female. I named her Paulina and released her onto my butterfly bush. I have learned that one of the Eastern Black Swallowtail's favorite foods is parsley... which probably explains why we found her next to our three parsley plants.
A new arrival emerged August 12th! Welcome to the world an Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly.
My oldest son found a colorful caterpillar entering the "J" stage in the grass by our herbs, on July 30th. We carefully moved the swath of grass onto our screened porch table, and watched the caterpillar form a pupal skin and chrysalis. The chrysalis hung by a silken thread. Almost two weeks later... an Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly emerged! I used my Audubon guide to identify her as a female. I named her Paulina and released her onto my butterfly bush. I have learned that one of the Eastern Black Swallowtail's favorite foods is parsley... which probably explains why we found her next to our three parsley plants.
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March 2020
AuthorMs. McGill is a public school librarian at Stony Point Elementary. She has previously taught all subjects in 4th & 5th grades, and creative nonfiction at UVa's Young Writers Workshop for nine summers. Categories |