If you grow carrot , celery , Anethum graveolens , Petroselinum crispum or any related plants , you may be intimate with the parsley worm caterpillar . This particular cat is hard to miss with its heavy size , typical appearing and Brobdingnagian appetite for plants in theApiaceaefamily . While you may not get it on to see it crunch on your Daucus carota sativa and herb , it ’s the larva of an important aboriginal pollinator : the black swallow-tailed coat butterfly .
ID The Parsley Worm
gambol a encompassing 2 - in - long body , the mature parsley worm caterpillar is wan green and covered with a serial publication of calamitous transverse stripes , each covered with yellowish smear . When crusade , the parsley insect reveals one of its more interesting strong-arm features : a forked orange saddle horn - like projection that extends out from behind the mind of the caterpillar to restrain potential marauder and publish a repulsive scent . The former instar of this larva have a varied appearance and do n’t directly resemble the fledged Petroselinum crispum worm . Not only is parsley insect visually striking , it is the larva form of the gorgeous black swallowtail butterfly ( Papilio polyxenes ) , which is found throughout North and Central America .
Handle With Care
While an greedy consumer of commercial-grade crops , the parsley louse should be treated with maintenance as the larval conformation of an importantnative pollinator . With the ongoing threat to aboriginal pollinators , like bee and butterfly , in North America due to home ground loss and pesticide vilification , insects like the Petroselinum crispum insect should not be treated as common garden pests . Many nurseryman who are butterfly enthusiast actually encourage the Petroselinum crispum worm in their garden by set special crops offennel , Anethum graveolens or parsley just to draw in the butterfly and encourage an active swallow-tailed coat population .
While I personally I consider in further these important creature whenever possible , there are times when the cat can become a pest . If cultivated carrot or herbaceous plant gardeners are dealing with a just a few caterpillars , relocation or exception through dustup covers may be fine option . In extreme situations where authoritative crops may be in danger of destruction , gardeners may moot using an organic spray containingBacillus thuringiensis(Bt ) that will be in force at hold in the cat .
Again whilesprayingwill aid check the Petroselinum crispum worm , it should only be used a last holiday resort , as the black swallowtail is not only beautiful but an authoritative aboriginal pollinator that should be promoted — not heedlessly demolish .
Distant Hills Garden/Flickr
