NOT a Zebra swallowtail…

Note. I initially identified this as a Zebra Swallowtail, but this is [*so*] wrong! This was before I had a copy of the National Wildlife Federation’s Field Guide to Insects and Spiders of North America and before I was using Butterflies and Moths of North America — http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/ — to identify my butterflies and moths with the help of experts. This is — correctly — an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus).

This one was so persistent! I changed lenses; I went in the house and up the stairs; I flung open a window and removed the screen to take some frames from above. Through it all, this guy was at our butterfly bush for more than 30 minutes!

A previous post — http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2011-07-24 — captured the wing pattern. I like this one for the spindly legs, antennae and the proboscis with a nice, sweeping curve to it!

July 2013 edit. I’m thinking this is *not* a Zebra Swallowtail. Probably an Eastern Tiger…

Confirmed (July 7, 2013) at BAMONA as “Papilio glaucus” (family Papilionidae; subfamily, Papilioninae) or “Eastern Tiger Swallowtail”; http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sighting_details/909114

[Wendy]

Fantastic capture! Love the focus and the nicely blurred background! Great colors and detail too!

[Angie Vega ☮♥ シ]

nicely captured

[Rick Schies]

That is a gorgeous one Thom. Nice focusing

[Thom Mitchell]

@exposure4u @angievega @digitalrn Thank you so much, faithful Wendy, Angie & Rick! I have been quite pleased with my camera's technical capabilities; the detail it captures allows close cropping!