Very Hungry Caterpillar Makes a Meal Out of Woman's Dill Plant
A black swallowtail caterpillar eagerly, and methodically, dined on some delicious dill on a Los Angeles woman’s balcony, video from September 1 shows.
Amanda Rafkin filmed the voracious bug tucking into the plant, which she said was her favorite herb.
She tweeted the video on September 2, showing the caterpillar carefully nibbling the plant frond by frond all the way down to the stalk.
“I had just recently gotten this new dill plant and was enjoying cooking with it, when the other day when I went out to water it and noticed this little guy going to town on the leaves! I did some research, and turns out he’s a ‘parsley worm,’ the caterpillar form of what will eventually be a black swallowtail butterfly. I guess I lost a dill plant and gained a pet caterpillar,” she said.
Black swallowtail caterpillars’ grub of choice includes dill, parsley, carrot, fennel, celery, and caraway, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Credit: Amanda Rafkin via Storyful
