The torch is passed. Throughout the river valley, butterflies of all species are passing the torch to young they won’t live to see.

Since June, black swallowtails have been laying eggs on dill and parsley in local gardens where, contrary to legend, their beautiful caterpillars are neither poisonous nor harmful to their host plants.

The monarch chrysalis was produced in a rearing cage. I unfastened it to display the silk adhesive that binds it to a fiberglass screen, and later reattached the loose ends with scotch tape.