One of my favorite hobbies is raising Black Swallowtail butterflies or any butterfly for that matter. My children know they will make my day if they find me a caterpillar.

This summer the caterpillars were scarce. We only collected two. Next year I plan to buy a lot of parsley as that is one of their favorite foods. We found ours on our carrot tops as they like them as well.

When we find a caterpillar we get a jar and put grass on the bottom, a stick ( pencil size) leaning against the size, and lots of carrot tops or parsley.

The caterpillars are so much fun to watch. Watch and see how they eat. Just a continuous munching. If you get a small one it may eat quite a few days and grow much bigger. Our first one this summer was very small and it grew about five times bigger.

You may also see them shed their skin several times as they grow.

When they are ready to make a chrysalis they will crawl up the stick and be motionless for awhile. Somehow they always make a chrysalis when I’m not looking so I’m not sure how it is done. They will twitch quite a bit before it is done.

I always take the stick out of the jar after the chrysalis is make. If you leave it in the jar the butterfly will sometimes hurt it’s wings when it hatches. Just place the stick in a plant or somewhere you can observe it.

Watch for the chrysalis to darken just before it hatches. It will take 2-3 weeks. It is fun for the whole family to watch the butterfly emerge. Somehow they always like to do it when I’m not looking.

If you see them emerge do not touch them as they can be easily damaged. Neither do they need any help.

Once they are flapping and drying their wings you can let them sit on your finger. Then take them outside and they soon will fly away.

If you have a male black swallowtail it will have yellow spots and the female will have white spots.

So next time you find a lovely caterpillar make sure to collect it as it is fun raising black swallowtail Butterflies. Have you ever tried it?