Tagged With: Papilio troilus

Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

Photograph taken on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 by Henry
Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

I’m pretty sure this is a spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus). There are three dark swallowtails that we see somewhat regularly. Most of them are dark form females of the eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). This is, in my experience, the second most common. Then there are the black swallowtails (Papilio polyxenes). They all look pretty similar and they all have a bit of variation in their coloration. Since I’m really not an expert, I could be wrong about this one. I’ll just leave it at that. It’s a pretty butterfly, in any case, and is enjoying the blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica ) in our front garden.

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Papilio troilus (Spicebush Swallowtail)

Photograph taken on Friday, July 23, 2021 by Henry
Papilio troilus (Spicebush Swallowtail)

Papilio troilus (Spicebush Swallowtail)

This spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus) was making the rounds in our front garden today. It didn’t really stay still and was a challenge to photograph. The wings were going the whole time, even when it sort of landed on the flowers and it didn’t stay on any one flower for long. Getting a picture where it was in profile was hard and any time I got too close, it would move to the other side of the garden. They’re pretty butterflies and I love to see them in addition to the more common tiger swallowtails (Papilio glaucus).

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Cascade Loop in Patapsco Valley

Photograph taken on Thursday, July 09, 2026 by Henry
Cascade Loop in Patapsco Valley State Park

Cascade Loop in Patapsco Valley State Park

We dropped Jeff and Dorothy at BWI early this afternoon and then drove to Patapsco Valley State Park and made our way to the trailhead for the Cascade Loop Trail. It wasn’t quite as hot as it’s been but in the woods along this creek it was very humid. The Cascade Loop Trail goes up a creek that empties into the Patapsco River. This photo is of the eponymous cascade. Not exactly Niagara Falls, but pretty.

Other than that, there were no real sites that stood out, although the valley was, in general very pretty. I did take a few more pictures of a butterfly and of a turkey vulture, but I’ve posted them separately. Because this is a loop trail, we returned by continuing around the loop, although its a little hard to figure out which trail is which.

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Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

Photograph taken on Thursday, July 09, 2026 by Henry
Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

As mentioned in the previous post, we took a walk on the Cascade Loop Trail in Patapsco Valley State Park this afternoon. After passing the cascade, we continued up the stream for a good ways. We saw and I photographed a few bluebirds and heard a few other birds, but it wasn’t really the best time of the day for birds. We did see, and I was able to get a reasonable photo of this spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus) on a tree trunk. They are a fairly widespread species, found from southern Canada to Florida and west to Oklahoma and central Texas.

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