natalya_hmo's Identifications

Over the years I've grown carrots, parsley, and rue plants. I haven't seen any last year on parsley or on carrots this year. But I remember seeing them consistently on rue.

I purchased this rue plant last week and saw that this caterpillar hitched a ride. It had a darker instar at the time and looked like bird poop.

My relatives often use the leaves in tea or coffee and it has a distinct bitter taste and its considered medicinal in their country. I'm thinking that the butterfly might prefer this plant overall because of the bitter taste, the caterpillars probably sequester whatever compounds make it bitter.