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Name: Laura
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Question:
We found some black swallowtail butterfly caterpillars eating parsley in my friend's garden. I brought two of them home, put them in a butterfly pavilion and gave them lots of fresh parsley. Yesterday, they were moving around a lot. Today they have not moved. They are not forming a chrysalis; they are just staying still on a stick and on the top of the pavilion. They are horizontal and not vertical. Is this normal behavior? If not, what can I do differently with a new set of caterpillars?

Replies:
It could be that the caterpillars are slowing down in preparation to form a chrysalis. Typically they will stop eating awhile before they become vertical and form a J.

Grace Fields

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