Episode 5

The Shadow and the Light: The Black Swallowtail’s Dance Between Worlds

Not all butterflies shimmer in daylight. Some move like whispers in the dusk—elegant, elusive, and wrapped in mystery. The Black Swallowtail is one such creature, a butterfly that exists between light and shadow, myth and survival, past and present.

In this episode of Gleam of Butterflies, we uncover:


🦋 The Black Swallowtail’s striking beauty and its clever survival adaptations


🦋 Why black butterflies have been seen as omens, spirits, and messengers across cultures


🦋 The deeper lesson this butterfly teaches us about transformation and embracing the unknown

Join Adrian Adair, The King of Butterflies, as we follow the silent, powerful flight of the Black Swallowtail.

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About the Podcast

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Gleam Of Butterflies
A poetic journey into the mystery, beauty, and transformation of butterflies. Hosted by Adrian Adair

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About your host

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Adrian Adair

There are those who simply admire butterflies—and then there are those who seem to move with them, understanding their silent language, following their unseen paths.

Adrian Adair is one of the latter.

The creator and voice behind Gleam of Butterflies, Adrian doesn’t just study butterflies—he listens to them. He traces their flight through myth and time, unearthing the stories they carry on their wings. With each episode, he takes listeners on a journey through forgotten legends, poetic symbolism, and the quiet miracles of nature.

His voice is both a guide and a whisper—leading through the gilded shimmer of the Blue Morpho, the spectral mystery of the Black Swallowtail, the eternal migration of the Monarch. He speaks of butterflies as spirits, as omens, as echoes of transformation, revealing what cultures across history have always known: these creatures are more than delicate wings. They are messages, waiting to be understood.

Some people chase butterflies. Adrian walks among them.

Follow the flight, and step into the wonder.