Eastern ...

... black swallowtail cats.

It may be hard to believe but the swallowtail caterpillars (cats) seen here are the same cats that I blipped last Tuesday!  Once they really start eating they seem to grow exponentially!  The cat in the right photo had assumed his/her J-hook position and would have pupated within a day or two ... but, sadly, when we checked on the cats the next day (Friday) one of the other cats had eaten the dill stalk down past this cat disturbing him/her.  What we saw on Friday was this cat was hanging almost upside down by his/her bottom which is attached to the dill.  We tried to help him/her but it was too late by the time we saw what had happened ... I was extremely upset by the whole thing.   

There are still three caterpillars in the butterfly enclosure and at the time of this backblipped post they have all pupated into their chrysalids. They should emerge as butterflies in 8-10 days. 

Backblipped: June 28, 2021 ... sigh.