Fennel - It's a Good (Butterfly) Thing.....

I plant fennel every spring - and this is the thanks I get! 




Butterflies love laying their eggs on fennel and this year I found nine caterpillar.  Just one problem (well, maybe two).  In this, the caterpillar stage, their focus in on eating and the vociferous little devils are munching my fennel plant down to the bare stem, then as they slowly back down, eat the stem as they go.  But, that's not really a problem....the problem is that I'm not the only one who sees these bright spots in the garden.  The birds do more than watch - they also pluck and eat! egad.....and then there was eight

This is stage two of the Monarch Butterfly - read more here about the butterfly life cycle. 

2 comments :

  1. Wow, the colors are stunning! What a cool image. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Marty, the pic is not of a Monarch caterpillar, it's a Black swallowtail caterpillar.

    ReplyDelete

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