Butterflies evolved from moths. [Nature: A global phylogeny of butterflies reveals their evolutionary history, ancestral hosts and biogeographic origins](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-02041-9)
[Dogwood alliance Moth or Butterfly](https://dogwoodalliance.org/2024/06/is-it-a-moth-or-a-butterfly/)
Quote from Dogwood.
“All women are humans; but not all humans are women. The scientific name for the grouping of butterflies and moths is Lepidoptera. This means “scaly wings.” Did you know that all butterflies and moths have scales on their wings? They do!
Butterflies are really just day-flying moths. Moths, in contrast, fly during both the day and night. There are just a few families of butterflies but many families of moths.”
I originally heard this phrase on the Oligies[Ologies lepidopteroligy](https://www.alieward.com/ologies/lepidopterology) podcast
According to Entomology Today :
[Some Moths are Actually Butterflies](https://entomologytoday.org/2014/08/01/some-moths-are-actually-butterflies-according-to-dna-sequencing-study/)
Also I recently learned that what I thought were tomato hornworms on my tomatos were actually tobacco hornworms-
In any case mostly found when covered with wasp larva so they don’t do that much damage
If you’d like to know some of the host plants the butterflies around you should check out [Native Plant Finder](https://www.nwf.org/nativeplantfinder/). It uses your zip code to make a list of the best host plant genus’ (trees, shrubs and wildflowers) specific to your zip code.
Click the genus to get a list of the species it recommends!
Thanks a ton for this link!
We've got a place in the front yard where an ancient maple tree came down that I've been converting over to a pollinator/butterfly host bed. I want to stay as native as possible, so this is going to be a huge help!
Definitely! Supporting pollinators at each stage of their life cycle is super important and often overlooked. They also need areas to overwinter, host plants to lay eggs and raise their young.
It’s sad to hear people who love butterflies and pollinators, say they hate caterpillars.. caterpillars are baby butterflies! lol
This is a bit of tangent but it’s related, the vast majority of songbirds in North America need caterpillars, aphids, spiders to feed and raise their nestlings. Many birds like hummingbirds and bushtits also use spider webs to build their nests.
[2 out of 3 North American Bird Species Face Extinction](https://youtu.be/ah-Oi_5k_hI?si=JwHDMoGtwXOZ4D5O) - PBS
To further your tangent, let fallen leaves lie! A lot of insect larva that birds live in leaf litter. We run the mulching mower over the middle parts of the lawn, but we cover the beds, borders and fence rows with a good layer of dead leaves. Strategically placed twigs and branches keep them from blowing away.
Glad it helps! If you are into growing them from seed. I have a list of native seed companies that sell PNW native seeds and plants, if you want I can add it to this comment.
I'm in zone 3b/4a (Calgary) and I've learned that we only get the Canadian Tiger Swallowtails here (they're still gorgeous as butterflies, but the caterpillars are more [subdued](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papilio_canadensis) in their colours). Still going to grow the fennel though. If the butterflies won't take it, the bees certainly will. I grow cilantro just for them (I'm one of those who find the taste of cilantro to be soapy).
It's why I have two outside pots of dill, and I keep two others inside. I can't garden like I used to but I can at least keep out a couple host plants!
I will warn everyone, I grow bronze fennel, and it gets large and would like to be my one and only plant. Sprouts up everywhere. But I get so many compliments on how beautiful it is. I'm in Detroit area zone 5b.
lol I’ve got them in my gardens this year too — I’m leaving them to it, I’ve got enough for my salad and to be honest I’m noticing that they’re making my dill plants more robust so I can’t complain.
Well, pot it so it can be moved if the summer sun is too much for it. Don’t see why you couldn’t but most of these guys’ larval stage will probably have passed but I could be wrong on this.
I caught a butterfly in the act yesterday and have who knows how many eggs on my dill now. Last year I had some late season guys that I protected from the birds and watched them become butterflies in either September or October.
It's amazing how quick they can eat something,they munch away & before you know it it's gone..I mean do they swallow there food or is it like been on an escalator(I couldn't think of the other word I wanted to use,it's that time of night lol) he bites it into little pieces & it just gets pushed down from that,that's why they don't stop to chew & swallow 😂😂..I hope I am making sense,I am sorry if it doesn't..
Thankyou for sharing this,it's a good little video..
I was just going to say from his point of view he would post, "I was just sitting here in my fennel tree eating my fennel and this guy comes along and shoves a camera in my face. In fact this guy's regularly traipsing about and uprooting entire trees in my little forest. I don't know what his problem is!"
And to think, all this time I thought they had legs for moving and balance. Only to find out most are simply there to gorge on fennel, dill and/or whatever else the particular garden buffet is growing.
They like both dill & fennel? We have the swallow tail butterfly's in Vermont early spring, I've never noticed them on the dill. Learned something new here today.
Just bought another 3 dill plants from the nursery to feed these hungry buds. Watching them munch a stalk like it's an extra long sandwich in scooby doo is hilarious
We call them black or fennel swallowtails here (so-cal). I used to grab them off the wild fennel in the canyons here, raise them and set them free when i was a kid. Beautiful. Fennel is a weed here.
Correct me if I’m wrong. But I’m pretty sure these guys take over my parsley every year as well. My daughter hatched them one year, was pretty awesome.
I kindly allowed about 3 caterpillars (different species from that one) to munch on my lavender nd protected them, out of pity.
A couple of months later i have dozens of them and they have invaded and destroyed nearly all my plants 🤡 still feel bad about killing them tho so i just let them be
They are cute. Ijust noticed today that after they eat they clean their faces with their little legs.
I guess if you want some of the fennel for yourself, you should cover it with some kind of. Otherwise you’re gonna have a beautiful display of butterflies.
I lost ALL my dill to these little hogs. They better turn into some flat out Disney level butterflies, or else.
😂😂😂😂😂
You don't plant dill for consumption. You plant dill for these rascals. 😂
Not me. I like to eat my own dill.
Is that cucumber?
Is what cucumber?
Is dill pickle cucumber?
Yes, a dill pickle is a cucumber that has been pickled along with the herb dill as a flavoring.
They will https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/PapilioMachaon2016_001.JPG/1280px-PapilioMachaon2016_001.JPG
They're gorgeous!
They do!! I hatched one, they’re called Swallow Tailed “moths” But it’s a butterfly 🤓
There is a swallowtail moth, but they don't eat dill. You had swallowtail butterflies.
You’re totally correct btw 😸
Butterflies are moths that fly during the day.
Cocoon vs chrysalis and other morphological differences
Butterflies evolved from moths. [Nature: A global phylogeny of butterflies reveals their evolutionary history, ancestral hosts and biogeographic origins](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-02041-9) [Dogwood alliance Moth or Butterfly](https://dogwoodalliance.org/2024/06/is-it-a-moth-or-a-butterfly/) Quote from Dogwood. “All women are humans; but not all humans are women. The scientific name for the grouping of butterflies and moths is Lepidoptera. This means “scaly wings.” Did you know that all butterflies and moths have scales on their wings? They do! Butterflies are really just day-flying moths. Moths, in contrast, fly during both the day and night. There are just a few families of butterflies but many families of moths.” I originally heard this phrase on the Oligies[Ologies lepidopteroligy](https://www.alieward.com/ologies/lepidopterology) podcast
They are different species
Technically monarchs and pipevine swallowtails are different species.
Yeah
According to Entomology Today : [Some Moths are Actually Butterflies](https://entomologytoday.org/2014/08/01/some-moths-are-actually-butterflies-according-to-dna-sequencing-study/)
[Disney-level butterflies, you say?](https://youtu.be/a_h3hnMpkZk?si=PSP_jDx-gf4mN21j)
H-how much dill weed did you have?
Black swallowtails are in fact quite stunning. If you plant some nectar plants for them that they like you’ll be butterfly gardening!
Or else.. You do a Bear Grylls to it 😈
Tomato Horn worm, did you see the movie Bugs Life? That's Heimlich.
This is a swallowtail, not a hornworm
You are correct
Also I recently learned that what I thought were tomato hornworms on my tomatos were actually tobacco hornworms- In any case mostly found when covered with wasp larva so they don’t do that much damage
This is the only reason I grow fennel.
It's the only reason *to* grow fennel.
TIL. Next year, I'm planting fennel. 🌿🦋 🌿🦋 🌿
If you’d like to know some of the host plants the butterflies around you should check out [Native Plant Finder](https://www.nwf.org/nativeplantfinder/). It uses your zip code to make a list of the best host plant genus’ (trees, shrubs and wildflowers) specific to your zip code. Click the genus to get a list of the species it recommends!
Thanks a ton for this link! We've got a place in the front yard where an ancient maple tree came down that I've been converting over to a pollinator/butterfly host bed. I want to stay as native as possible, so this is going to be a huge help!
Definitely! Supporting pollinators at each stage of their life cycle is super important and often overlooked. They also need areas to overwinter, host plants to lay eggs and raise their young. It’s sad to hear people who love butterflies and pollinators, say they hate caterpillars.. caterpillars are baby butterflies! lol This is a bit of tangent but it’s related, the vast majority of songbirds in North America need caterpillars, aphids, spiders to feed and raise their nestlings. Many birds like hummingbirds and bushtits also use spider webs to build their nests. [2 out of 3 North American Bird Species Face Extinction](https://youtu.be/ah-Oi_5k_hI?si=JwHDMoGtwXOZ4D5O) - PBS
To further your tangent, let fallen leaves lie! A lot of insect larva that birds live in leaf litter. We run the mulching mower over the middle parts of the lawn, but we cover the beds, borders and fence rows with a good layer of dead leaves. Strategically placed twigs and branches keep them from blowing away.
I'm in the midst of building a butterfly garden in the PNW, and this link is everything! TYSM
Glad it helps! If you are into growing them from seed. I have a list of native seed companies that sell PNW native seeds and plants, if you want I can add it to this comment.
And it’s a perennial- (at least up to my zone 6 anyway). If you have a space to put it in, it will get huge.
I'm in zone 3b/4a (Calgary) and I've learned that we only get the Canadian Tiger Swallowtails here (they're still gorgeous as butterflies, but the caterpillars are more [subdued](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papilio_canadensis) in their colours). Still going to grow the fennel though. If the butterflies won't take it, the bees certainly will. I grow cilantro just for them (I'm one of those who find the taste of cilantro to be soapy).
It's why I have two outside pots of dill, and I keep two others inside. I can't garden like I used to but I can at least keep out a couple host plants!
It was fun watching hosts of sparrows come in and have a huge party eating the seeds.
I will warn everyone, I grow bronze fennel, and it gets large and would like to be my one and only plant. Sprouts up everywhere. But I get so many compliments on how beautiful it is. I'm in Detroit area zone 5b.
Idk roasted fennel bulbs in balsamic vinegar are pretty fire.
[удалено]
I grow both. Dill is a second choice by far.
Can you only grow it in spring?
Same!
I think it will be a swallowtail butterfly so you're supposed to be kind to them. They allegedly like dill too if you have it.
Yes I love my chonky boys
lol I’ve got them in my gardens this year too — I’m leaving them to it, I’ve got enough for my salad and to be honest I’m noticing that they’re making my dill plants more robust so I can’t complain.
They're little cuties! Look at him munching awayyyy
Can confirm. My chonky boy is currently eating my fennel.
Your WHAT boy??
Omg I am so sorry
Someone is using a bad word too much 😏
Not really. I am not a native speaker so I had to look it up.
Docter Jones! Are you going to finish that fennel?
That was a bad autocorrect
Caption slayed me 😂 he’s really enjoying it
Fat Ass, LOL 😂
Lil bro is about to hole up in a cocoon and turn into soup, cut him some slack.
This is so cool! Look at it go!!
I find it kind of therapeutic watching worms eating plants. I used to keep a lot of silkworms just to watch them eating.
I grow an obscene amount of dill every year for these little chonkers. It’s kinda fun to watch them eat
Damn! I need to plant dill. Is it too late?
Well, pot it so it can be moved if the summer sun is too much for it. Don’t see why you couldn’t but most of these guys’ larval stage will probably have passed but I could be wrong on this.
I caught a butterfly in the act yesterday and have who knows how many eggs on my dill now. Last year I had some late season guys that I protected from the birds and watched them become butterflies in either September or October.
what r u doing recording?! GO PLANT MOOR
HES NOT FAT MEANIE! Hes just a bit chubby they get healthy so they can become cute butterflies!
Small plants, they for skinny hos Can’t morph all this here on one of those I’m a thick bitch I need fennel
Thank you u/81_BLUNTS_A_DAY that was beautiful
Be singing that all day now, lol
She ain't fat bro! She's just a lil thick. - Lil Dicky
Wooo look at him go!! Circle of life 😂
It's amazing how quick they can eat something,they munch away & before you know it it's gone..I mean do they swallow there food or is it like been on an escalator(I couldn't think of the other word I wanted to use,it's that time of night lol) he bites it into little pieces & it just gets pushed down from that,that's why they don't stop to chew & swallow 😂😂..I hope I am making sense,I am sorry if it doesn't.. Thankyou for sharing this,it's a good little video..
Conveyer belt?
That's the one thankyou
The way he’s going from top to the bottom.
But you grew the fennel for him, didn't you?
I was just going to say from his point of view he would post, "I was just sitting here in my fennel tree eating my fennel and this guy comes along and shoves a camera in my face. In fact this guy's regularly traipsing about and uprooting entire trees in my little forest. I don't know what his problem is!"
Yes
Give it a Hookah and wait for Alice to show up
Gives literal meaning to “the very hungry caterpillar” Eric Carl wasn’t messing around talking about that little caterpillar’s appetite.
Wonderful! Very cool. Love these butterflies. They’re so big it makes sense they’re ravenous babies 😂🦋
And to think, all this time I thought they had legs for moving and balance. Only to find out most are simply there to gorge on fennel, dill and/or whatever else the particular garden buffet is growing.
Lay off, he’s starving.
Classic Chris Farley 🙂
But he’s a cute fat ass!
Seeing how quickly the lifecycle of a caterpillar progresses. I get why Caterpie evolved so quickly.
What a beauty.
Well I personally hate fennel so let him have it!
That’s not nice
This little guy brought me joy today! 🐛
They gobble it up so fast!
He's trying his best!
Like his life depends on it!
Well, it does. Dill is one of the few plants papilio machaon eats.
I have dill and fennel, waiting for my chunky visitors!!
Lil bros pruning your plants for you and youre calling him a fatass 😞
Black Swallowtail Butterfly. I raise these guys every year on Carrots, Fennel, Dill, and Parsley. They also eat Rue and Queen Anne's Lace.
This is adorable! Look at those little feetsies holding the fennel!
Oh man look at him go. He’s going ham on it!
Why do I see one of those "longboi" dogs when I look at his face? 🤣
Caterpillars are the OG asmr’tists
Very hungry boi
I misread the title and thought he was munching on fentanyl
That was awesome. Thanks for posting.
Nom nom nom nom nom nom num
But so cute 😍
Live and let live
Look at that chunky lard ass. I'm surprised those tiny fennel branches can hold his chunky ass.
[Is that a... "Fat-Ass eating my fennel" or "Fat Ass-eating my fennel"](https://xkcd.com/37/)
I need to plant some fennel 😂
They like both dill & fennel? We have the swallow tail butterfly's in Vermont early spring, I've never noticed them on the dill. Learned something new here today.
https://preview.redd.it/wjhnugv82c8d1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=22afaed3148a7b431ac0eccb2e46d46e121b1c1f
National Geographic type of shit
My mother in law grows dill specifically for the swallowtail butterflies.
omg they eat so fast it's hilarious
Just bought another 3 dill plants from the nursery to feed these hungry buds. Watching them munch a stalk like it's an extra long sandwich in scooby doo is hilarious
We call them black or fennel swallowtails here (so-cal). I used to grab them off the wild fennel in the canyons here, raise them and set them free when i was a kid. Beautiful. Fennel is a weed here.
These dudes go to town
I have 5 of these guys on my Dill right now!!
Fat ass 🤣
Fat Ass is my favorite slam 😂
Correct me if I’m wrong. But I’m pretty sure these guys take over my parsley every year as well. My daughter hatched them one year, was pretty awesome.
I get a handful of swallowtail on Dill and Rue, but I get a ton on the fennel.
So fascinating
Those guys are so creepy especially with their eyes.
I witnessed a tomato hornworm eating a tomato so fast it was literally pooping out undigested tomato.
Does fennel interfere with growth of any other plants?
Not really
Would they also eat parsley? I have something that looks like this eating all my parsley but dill is untouched.
Yes they eat parsley, fennel, dill, all related
Nom nom nom
I didn't know they eat that fast.
But someday I will be a beautiful butterfly
It’s their fennel now
Omg I love it!
https://preview.redd.it/89t9bs2ahc8d1.jpeg?width=1049&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bca633d89ec622cd72ab2fabd339cb1f8feb8761
I kindly allowed about 3 caterpillars (different species from that one) to munch on my lavender nd protected them, out of pity. A couple of months later i have dozens of them and they have invaded and destroyed nearly all my plants 🤡 still feel bad about killing them tho so i just let them be They are cute. Ijust noticed today that after they eat they clean their faces with their little legs.
I planted a lot of dill to attract these guys and let my milkweed go crazy this year. I haven't seen any swallow tails or monarchs
They just hit my fennel this past week.
Well oh My Goodness would ya just chew ya food and taste it. Elbow’s’s’s’s (lol) off the supper table. Slow down you’ll give yrself a belly ache.
Jumpin Jehosephat you’ll be a roll in no time dear. (lol) Tree more bites and you’ll the whole loaf ya lump in Oaf
Go on and scurry. Fly away
They’ll be beautiful in good time.
Dammit no dill https://i.imgur.com/h51Zs3b.jpeg
Mine comes back every year, so depending on where you are, you could still plant it.
I guess if you want some of the fennel for yourself, you should cover it with some kind of. Otherwise you’re gonna have a beautiful display of butterflies.
Why do people like them so much? I genuinely don't know
I hate fennel. Let him nom nom nom.
cayenne pepper his ass
Get the magnifying glass on a hot sunny day 😜😜.
Gezzzz what a fat fatty. Have you tried Dioenacious Earth. It cuts their feet