My Fennel is growing really well again this year. Already the swallowtails have deposited eggs and caterpillars have hatched. Last year they overdid that and overgrazed the plant. To my knowledge, only two caterpillars survived and I think only one successfully became a butterfly. They were eliminated by starvation, exposure, and predators. Just too many caterpillars for the supply of Fennel. When the Fennel grew back, I was careful to keep the numbers down and there was a small bit of success on a second batch.
This year, I wanted to avoid that so I spent a couple of days picking off eggs and leaving only about seven caterpillars. Well, now the wheelbugs aka assassin bugs are successfully doing their predatory behavior by eating the caterpillars. I can't seem to find the right balance. Wheelbugs are beneficial too. All good for the Fennel, I guess. It's growing and blooming well.
