Black swallowtail butterflies

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

This morning I went out to tend my herb garden and found my parsley plant decimated!

I pulled 16! 16 black swallowtail butterfly caterpillars off of my plant.

SO I know they are butterflies and want to give them a chance to live, I even have a spare aquarium I can house them in.

But, here is the problem: I don't have enough parsley to feed them all. I don't have any carrots this year (dang rabbits!) I have no fennel or dill. I don't want to buy parsley for them.

Any ideas or thoughts on how to save them and my plant??

I doubt my parsley plant would have sufficed for them all if i had left them alone!

 

[Catstar68]

Do you have any fields or local wildlife areas with alot of Queen Anne's Lace plants around. QAL is a member of the carrot family. They will thrive on it, be happy and you'll save your garden.

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

ooooo! Thanks! I will start looking today! --- As soon as it stops raining!

I have another plant that grows around here that looks very very much like carrot, but its not. Do you think they might take that??

 

[Catstar68]

I'm not sure. They like members of the carrot and dill family. QAL is a very common weed, you should be able to find some and let nature take care of her babies.

 

[Buff Hooligans]

How about grocery store parsley in a vase? I raised some Monarch caterpillars that are in chrysalis mode at the moment in an aquarium. Sundays the day!

 

[sourland]

Queen Anne's lace is one of their natural foods. Like Catstar said, they will feed on it.