Hungry?

While the family is off visiting other parts of the family, part of my vacation to-do list is to keep the outdoor plants from frying in the sun or wilting into oblivion with this heat (today 95 with a heat index of 102!).

On Monday, I was really actually looking at the plants as I watered them, and noticed that some of the Italian Parsley looked as if it had been picked.  I figured Mom had taken some with her to my brother Rick... who doesn't LOVE to receive a fresh bouquet of parsley???

Then, on Tuesday, MORE was gone!  I began to think someone was snitching our parsley!  Then I looked closer...

These caterpillars were munching away on the parsley

You can see that now (Wednesday) they have eaten quite a bit!

Not just one...

And not that one and this one...

 In this photo, if you look closely... there are 5... but that's not all...

More than this!

They were EVERYWHERE!

As I looked around the plant, there were a total of 10!

I looked them up in the Butterflies of the Carolinas book that Mom has... I wanted to be sure that they were not destructive (to anything other than the parsley, that is...)...

They are the caterpillars for the Black Swallowtail Butterfly!

WHEW!

Then, I went about my business and let them eat the rest... it was mostly defoliated already... I can always get Mom a new parsley plant...  I took the photos late yesterday, and they had munched all night and there isn't much left... some of the caterpillars even left the plant to go find something else yummy.  (And yes, the plants in the carrot family - of which parsley is - are a common food for this caterpillar)  







I am keeping an eye on the basil now... though the book says nothing about them liking basil...


OK... so now I have gone back out in the sweltering, muggy heat and looked at the parsley again... the pretty caterpillars are all gone now...

And so are ALL the leaves!

Are those little green round things on the top of the soil what I think they are??? 
(see the new sprout coming up on the left?)

And here is one of Mom's miniature roses... just covered with blossoms!