Guess who’s back? “Tinkerbell” paid us another visit a couple of nights after we first spotted her! Observing her closely, there’s no doubt in our minds that she’s a butterfly, happily feasting on the nectar from our new blueberry plants and probably doing some pollination magic too! Check out this video capturing her fluttering past the camera after enjoying the blueberries.

Look, it’s a Black Swallowtail! We noticed the unique pattern on its body, and its larger size strongly suggests that’s what it is. Around this time last year, when we were newbies, discovering those small caterpillars on our dill and fennel sparked our curiosity to learn more. Honestly, initially I couldn’t distinguish if they were ants or caterpillars. But as we delved into understanding our first Black Swallowtail baby caterpillars, we realized how much we would come to cherish and adore these tiny creatures that grow into such majestic butterflies.

Knowing now it’s a Black Swallowtail, it’s thrilling to watch it diligently pollinate the new blueberry plants we’ve added to this year’s garden. My thinking is, why not cultivate a fruit that not only nourishes pollinators and birds but also satisfies my own appetite? And, is it possible to imagine after raising over 100 Black Swallowtail caterpillars last year, this could be a resident butterfly noticing all the new fennel, dill, parsley and cilantro we just planted for them to lay their eggs on?

Here’s a picture of the bloom on the Blueberry plant it’s feeding and pollinating on…

Contemplating the wonder sparked by witnessing this beauty, alongside the irrefutable evidence captured on our camera as butterflies diligently pollinate fruit even under the cover of night, serves as a profound source of motivation and inspiration!

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