Swallowtail butterfly photo by Eileen Goldfinger. 9/6/2021
Here is a more recent post regarding the Swallowtail in 2026:
The swallowtail butterfly is one of the largest. It is rare, and this is the first time we have seen it in our Ocean Grove garden.
ZORBA
Original Broadway Cast album: “The Butterfly.”
I saw one black swallowtail early this summer briefly as she circled my herb garden looking for a place to lay her eggs! She may have been the same one who last year fluttered around my dill plant while I was working in the garden. At that time I was surprised at the boldness and fearlessness of the butterfly.
About a week later, I was horrified to find the dill plant covered with tiny black and yellow worms.
After a trip to Sunset Farms with a bag of them and no one could identify them, I did some research online and discovered that these butterflies lay their eggs on dill, parsley or rue! This year I did not plant any dill!!