18 June 2022

First black swallowtails of the year



This one eclosed late this afternoon; when I photographed him, he was still fanning his wings to dry and stiffen them. (Males are characterized by prominence of the yellow pattern on the forewing and subtlety of the blue spots on the hindwing above the eyespots).

This one is a little small in body size, as is typical for the late-season ones which overwinter here as a chrysalis (the caterpillars often don't get very fat in the fall before the cold weather forces them to pupate), but the outstanding beauty of the wings is wonderfully characteristic of the species - click to enlarge to bigger-than-screen size.

He will spend the night on our screen porch, then warm himself in the sunshine before heading out for whatever adventures await. Five more chrysalids from last autumn's batch are still waiting to hatch.

Reposted from last month to add a photo of the latest one to eclose:


The color patter on the underside of the wings is truly remarkable and not usually visible when you see them soaring around your garden.

6 comments:

  1. Do they hang around your house afterwards? imprinted with the location?

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    1. Not the swallowtails. This one zoomed up to the treetop as soon as it was released in order to catch some solar energy, then flew off on butterfly business.

      The butterflies with the most prominent sense of "place" seem to be the male Monarchs, which discover our garden is full of milkweed, and they then "cruise" back and forth across the yard, waiting for the arrival of females. Red Admirals also sometimes hang around especially when there are lots of nectar sources in bloom.

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  2. He is beautiful and poses like he knows it.

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  3. LOVE your blog. Can't figure out how to "sign-in" so it will remain anon. But truly love your efforts. I've learned so much and thank you

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    Replies
    1. The easiest way to "sign in" is just to make up a name/identity and type it after your comment... "Ralph in Peoria" "Dodgers fan" "redheaded stranger" etc. Then others can direct replies specifically to you.

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