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Swallowtail caterpillar (parsleyworm) Order: Lepidoptera Family: Papilionidae Papilio machaon Caterpillars of Swallowtail butterflies, Papilio machaon, are various shades of green, with narrow black bands on each body segment. The black bands are interrupted by yellow-orange dots. The caterpillars, which can reach 2” in length, consume leaves and flowers of various plants in the carrot family (Apiaceae), including cultivated carrot, parsley, dill, and fennel. Older larvae often prefer the inflorescence. These caterpillars can destroy a home gardener’s crop quickly if they go unnoticed. This species spends the winter in the pupal stage inside a chrysalis. Adults, which are black with yellow markings near the margins of the fore and hind wings, and more limited blue and red marking on the hind wings, emerge in the spring and seek a host plant on which to lay eggs. The caterpillars have a forked, glandular process behind the head that can be everted to emit a strong odor distasteful to predators. Info from: http://www.uark.edu/depts/entomolo/museum/blswcat.html Photos taken with Konica Minolta Dimage Z5, collage made in Photoshop Elements. Hope you like it and thanks for watching :-)