Black Swallowtail Butterfly
Steve Turner
April 9, 2023
Butterfly and Hummingbird Gardening Did You Know? Herbs Under the Jakfruit Tree
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The Black Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio polyxenes) may be the least observed butterfly in South Florida. One very easy way to attract it though, is to grow parsley and dill in the winter months in your herb garden or in pots on your patio. In the spring when the plants are flowering and going to seed and, on their way, out for the season, the Black Swallowtail Butterfly lays eggs on these plants for the caterpillars to consume. The caterpillars start out mimicking bird droppings to avoid predation. As they mature, they become a very distinct green, black, and yellow large caterpillar. Very hard to miss among the foliage of the herbs.
Richard Lyons Nursery has Dill and Parsley plants currently in stock.
