The Lab garden is thriving! In addition to the plants, we have Black Swallowtail caterpillars making their home in our dill and parsley. Last year, we observed that our garden attracted a lot of butterflies, which resulted in a handful of caterpillars on our plants. This year, we used that knowledge to help our young scientists plan what and how much to plant in our garden. One concern was how much the caterpillars ate. Last summer, our parsley was decimated. This planting season, our young scientists decided to plant the dill and parsley close together in pairs. This attracted lots of butterflies, very quickly.
As of today, June 25th, our young scientists have counted 19 Black Swallowtail caterpillars in different stages of development living in our front garden. They are part of our local ecology and out young scientists have been delighted to observe them. Some of the caterpillars are fully grown and are nearing the pupa stage. Follow us on Instagram or Facebook for caterpillar updates via pictures and video.
Caterpillar Facts
There are about 180,000 different types of caterpillars.
The life cycle of a butterfly has 4 steps: eggs, caterpillar (larva), pupa, adult (butterfly).
Most female butterflies lay their eggs on the kinds of plants their caterpillars will want to eat – this helps make sure the young are able to start eating right after they hatch.
Some Swallowtail caterpillars make tents out of leaves for shelter.
Caterpillars have three pairs of true legs, up to four pairs of prolegs in the middle off their bodies, and often one pair of prolegs at the end of the body.
Caterpillars breathe through a series of small openings along the sides of their thorax and abdomen called spiracles.
As of today, June 25th, our young scientists have counted 19 Black Swallowtail caterpillars in different stages of development living in our front garden. They are part of our local ecology and out young scientists have been delighted to observe them. Some of the caterpillars are fully grown and are nearing the pupa stage. Follow us on Instagram or Facebook for caterpillar updates via pictures and video.
Caterpillar Facts
There are about 180,000 different types of caterpillars.
The life cycle of a butterfly has 4 steps: eggs, caterpillar (larva), pupa, adult (butterfly).
Most female butterflies lay their eggs on the kinds of plants their caterpillars will want to eat – this helps make sure the young are able to start eating right after they hatch.
Some Swallowtail caterpillars make tents out of leaves for shelter.
Caterpillars have three pairs of true legs, up to four pairs of prolegs in the middle off their bodies, and often one pair of prolegs at the end of the body.
Caterpillars breathe through a series of small openings along the sides of their thorax and abdomen called spiracles.