I do not like double posting, but I have not yet received a reply on the Butterfly Gardening Forum. Here is the link to my original post.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1401273/
If any of you have any suggestions, I would be grateful. I am soo happy to have the caterpillars here, but the dill is running out.
Are that many people leaving Dave's Garden that these forums are not so active any more?
Need Food for Black Swallowtail
I have since received some replies. Basically, they prefer the plant they started on, so moving them to another plant won't work. An immediate solution will be to find some organic dill at a nursery or even fresh from the grocery store. Organic makes sense, as insects will be eating it, so do not want any pesticides on their food.
As a long term solution, I will try to plant more Golden Alexanders as a native food source for the Black Swallowtail. I have a patch away from the house, but maybe put more nearby. I like being able to monitor the critters eating my plants. It's been fun going out and seeing the baby butterflies' growth.
The Golden Alexanders are coming up beautifully, so plenty of food for the Swallowtails. I haven't seen any dill come up yet.
Since my last post I've seen small starts of dill that I just yank. I guess I should save some for pickles if I decide to do any this year.
I saw my first of the year Black Swallowtail on Friday, then Saturday I saw one fluttering around some Golden Alexanders. Yay! Based on seeing the plant in new areas, I think it will spread nicely on its own. Some of my other natives are finicky, so that is nice.
I had to look up Golden Alexander - it must not be common around here, but we have other wild carrot relatives. The other domestic plant I have seen them on is Rue - I have heard they like parsley also. My dill is too short to attract anything yet.