This Morning, A Black Swallowtail Caterpillar

July 27, 2025

This morning out in the heat pulling weeds. A distinctive caterpillar eating away at a Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota). A beautiful pattern and coloring. It’s a Black Swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio polyxenes).

Like this caterpillar, the larvae stages of Black Swallowtails feed on plants in the carrot family (ApiaceaeI) such as dill, parsley, fennel, carrots and Queen Anne’s Lace.

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Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.

2 thoughts on “This Morning, A Black Swallowtail Caterpillar”

  1. I had several of these little caterpillars on parsley at my house. They denuded the plant, so last week I bought 2 more plants because Austin is having so much fun watching them grow! And we’re having fun watching him!!

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