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.
Tagged With: Spicebush Swallowtail
Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Butterfly, Insect, Insecta, Lepidoptera, Papilio, Papilio troilus, Spicebush Swallowtail, Swallowtail
Comments Off on Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)
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).
Categories: Miscellaneous
Tags: Butterfly, Insecta, Lepidoptera, Papilio, Papilio troilus, Spicebush Swallowtail, Swallowtail, Tall Verbena, Verbena, Verbena bonariensis
Comments Off on Papilio troilus (Spicebush Swallowtail)