Black swallowtail caterpillar

An exciting find this summer was a black swallowtail caterpillar. Who found it, you ask? Why of course, Nathaniel. Who else spends hours studying every plant in the garden? He was jumping with excitement to show me his discovery. They are indeed beautiful!! They were found munching on our carrot leaves. We had fun watching them carefully moving up and down carrot stems. It is incredible how quickly they can put away a leaf! A few days ago we saw a black swallowtail butterfly fluttering through the yard. We had to pause and wonder if this was the caterpillar we had seen a few weeks ago.