Black swallowtail butterfly caterpillar (Papilio polyxenes)
Burnt Lands Provincial Park
This is an early instar; when older it turns the more familiar green and yellow. This one was on Queen Anne's lace (also known as Wild Carrot), though mostly I find the larvae on Wild Parsnip.
Have you ever put one in a jar with some stalks of parsley and watched it morph? I didn't bring mine in until it was in its last instar. When I put it in a jar it started wandering - looking for a strong stem on which to attach to go into its chrysalis - very fascinating to watch. These are much better pictures of this stage than I captured. Kudos!
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