Monday, August 11, 2008

Black Swallowtail Caterpillar


What a delightful discovery in my friend Lila's herb garden. This is a Black Swallowtail caterpillar, chowing down on one of her fennel plants. Isn't he gorgeous?

Click HERE to learn more about Black Swallowtails, their life cycles and host plants.

4 comments:

PJ said...

That is a fat and happy caterpillar. And such good taste in choosing dill!
I hope you don't mind but I would like to ask you a technical question, if you don't mind. I'm not happy with my camera and I'm looking to buy a better one. You seem to be able to take photos in a wide variety of light settings and I was wondering what you are using?
Also, I left a post below asking if there are anymore turtle releases coming up. Would love to see that.

Barrier Island Girl said...

Hey PJ! First I want to let you know I was mistaken about the caterpillar's dinner choice. It was fennel, not dill he was eating. Sorry.

Secondly, I currently shoot with a Canon EOS Rebel XT. I got it for Christmas 2005, so it has a lot of miles on it considering I'm out shooting in harsh elements every day: sand and dust, salt air, humidity, sun...

I'm saving up for a Canon 40D, but a really good camera would also be the Canon Rebel XTi (next generation of my current camera).

Off to bed. I just returned from nest-sitting. Eighty-six hatchlings emerged tonight around 8p.m., and we watched them safely get to the Gulf of Mexico. I could hear a few stragglers were left in the nest and stayed until 3:30 a.m. to escort them to the water. Unfortunately they just weren't ready to face the world. Maybe by morning they'll be there for the dawn patrol.

I'll post more later -- WAY past my bedtime!

DJ

PJ said...

I think the D40 is about $1,500, base price, and that's a lot of savings. I'm looking for something more like what you have now. Thanks.

Barrier Island Girl said...

PJ, I've bought all my cameras in the last 10 years through Amazon.com. I've been very happy with them, plus I save on the tax and shipping.

Canon EOS 40D through them is around $1200, Canon Rebel XTi or XT around $699 right now.

One hint, many times you can generally save around $100 if you go for the silver body versus the black body. Doublecheck that on Amazon. I chose black since the sun's reflection in my face from the camera is an issue for me out here on the beach. Otherwise it's just a matter of what you like and if you're okay with silver body and a black lens. Hey, black and silver is a great combination! ;-)