Eastern ...

... Black Swallowtail. 

We have been so blessed this Summer with an abundance of this beautiful swallowtail butterflies.  Of course we have lots of their host plants ... which the females have used to lay lots and lots of eggs. 

Currently we have two butterfly enclosures filled to the brim with caterpillars and chrysalids.  At this point all to these should overwinter and emerge in the Spring ... to start the process all over again.  I think we are going to have to grow a lot more parsley and dill next year!

If any of you have ever tried to get a decent shot of one of these butterflies you will know how difficult it can be.  When feeding they are rarely still ... the wings are constantly beating.  So I was pretty pleased when I saw this photo. 

Backblipped: Sept. 29, 2021 ... getting caught up.