Small caterpillars or worms on parsley - Ask Extension
Almost overnight, small caterpillars appeared on my parsley. It is growing in a container on a deck about 15ft off the ground. They are 8-12mm in leng...
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Small caterpillars or worms on parsley #719321
Asked August 31, 2020, 10:01 AM EDT
Almost overnight, small caterpillars appeared on my parsley. It is growing in a container on a deck about 15ft off the ground. They are 8-12mm in length. What are they, and should I get rid of them?
Baltimore City County Maryland
Expert Response
These are the young caterpillars of our native Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly. They mimic bird droppings with their white-splotched black bodies, and when older, switch to a coloration that better blends-in.
https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/view/489
It's possible birds, wasps, or parasites will remove some of them for you, but otherwise the only recommendation we have is to move them onto another host plant if you do not want them consuming your parsley (which they can eat quite a bit of as they age). Accepted host plants are anything in the carrot family (Apiaceae), both native and non-native alike. Queen-Anne's Lace is a common roadside and parkland weed if you need to find something; try to make sure it's in an area that wasn't sprayed with herbicide.
If you want to experiment and raise them, you can feed them store-bought parsley greens (or dill, fennel, cilantro, etc.) but will need to choose some that weren't treated with insecticide; organic doesn't mean it's pesticide-free. Either way, this generation will probably be the overwintering one, meaning that any chrysalises that form from this batch of caterpillars will "hibernate" for the winter somewhere off of the host plant and will emerge next spring.
Miri
https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/view/489
It's possible birds, wasps, or parasites will remove some of them for you, but otherwise the only recommendation we have is to move them onto another host plant if you do not want them consuming your parsley (which they can eat quite a bit of as they age). Accepted host plants are anything in the carrot family (Apiaceae), both native and non-native alike. Queen-Anne's Lace is a common roadside and parkland weed if you need to find something; try to make sure it's in an area that wasn't sprayed with herbicide.
If you want to experiment and raise them, you can feed them store-bought parsley greens (or dill, fennel, cilantro, etc.) but will need to choose some that weren't treated with insecticide; organic doesn't mean it's pesticide-free. Either way, this generation will probably be the overwintering one, meaning that any chrysalises that form from this batch of caterpillars will "hibernate" for the winter somewhere off of the host plant and will emerge next spring.
Miri
