Tiger Swallowtails

by Donna Lewis

I caught this beautiful male Tiger Swallowtail this afternoon while it was drinking nectar from a Zinnia.

I love this butterfly.  The male is yellow, while the females can sometimes be black.

You can see the stripes on the wings, which look like those on tigers. They are very large and easy to see and photograph. They look like they float in the air while trying to land. But other times they are very fast and hard to keep up with.

I have a lot of Purple Coneflowers and Zinnias in the garden, which are favorites of this species.

Their eggs are hard to find. The egg is green and round which blends in with the leaves of sweet bay magnolia and tulip poplar trees. The eggs are generally high up at the top of the tree.

There are also Fritillaries, Sulphurs,  Pipevine Swallowtails, and Eastern Black Swallowtails in the pasture. I was too slow to get clear photos of them.

Lots to look at as always.

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• Butterfly identification from iNaturalist and not guaranteed accurate. Suggestions welcome.