About 2 weeks ago, I found caterpillars on my parsley. I have had past experiences where I have ignored these little guys and they have chomped my parsley down to little stubs. So, I plucked them off and called the kids over to see (OK, play with) them. It was 5:00 and I was desperate.
Anyways, we decided to bring them inside in a jar and limit the amount of parsley they consumed. And in the meantime I looked them up online and found out that indeed they are black swallowtail larvae. Cool. I explained to the boys what should happen to them, in theory, then I proceeded to cross my fingers and obsessively check on these little guys about every 5 minutes.
And after several days of eating and pooping and eating and pooping, they crawled up onto sticks and turned into chrysalis! The picture below is of 5 chrysalis and one remaining caterpillar (who actually already has attached himself to the stick by a thread, if you look closely). Quite cool. And a total mommy score.
This picture shows a close-up of him getting ready to change over. There is another chrysalis above him on the same stick. Half are bright green and the other half look just like the stick. Unsure why. Is it a gender thing? A camo thing?
The next morning, I awoke to find him as a chrysalis, too. And there was a little pile of caterpillar skin below him, as that is how they form. But of course, none of these fascinating processes actually take place with my giant face looming over their jar.
This morning the chrysalis had turned translucent and I could see the butterfly's markings through it. So close! The kids and I watched intently. Then we walked to school. And when I came home, of course...
...there was a butterfly! See the empty chrysalis below it? Don't be fooled by the still-full chrysalis that he is attached to. I think he was trying to coax his buddy out. 
He (she? I should look that up) was AMAZING. Perfect. I know it is something that science classes have been doing for years, but WOW was that cool.
It was trying to fly in the little jar, so I knew I needed to let it go, so Ian an I went out to put it on the lantana in the front. But we didn't make it all the way. He flew away immediately after this picture (ha - gee, I wonder why???). We still have 5 chrysalis here at home, Merritt has 2 caterpillars at school, and we have one tiny caterpillar we are trying to bulk up for Gavin's classroom. And then I will stop checking my parsley! 
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