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Papilo polyxenes
I clipped some flowers from my dill plant in the garden and put them in a vase, then several days later I found this caterpillar. The last picture shows another tiny one found on the same dill flowers. Are they different stages of the same kind? I'm assuming the big one is a kind of swallowtail butterfly. My most frequent swallowtail visitors are Eastern tiger swallowtails, and occasional spicebush and pipevine swallowtails. It occasionally displays its orange antennae-like things, but always retracts them when I'm near. It seems quite shy. The tiny one has since died, but the big one is still thriving on a steady diet of dill. I might try to raise it to a butterfly. Update: It has now pupated! Update 2: It hatched! It was a male! He was beautiful and healthy, last seen flying like a champion.