First butterfly in our garden!

This doesn’t show how yellow this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus; family, Papilionidae; subfamily, Papilioninae) is, but I like this different perspective for a couple of reasons: it shows off the stripes on the body as well as the blue coloration that may help in determining whether this is a male or female. (Given how much blue there is, I think this is a female.)

Confirmed at BAMONA as Papilio glaucus or “Eastern Tiger Swallowtail”; http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sighting_details/907296

Confirmed at BugGuide as male Papilio glaucus or “Eastern Tiger Swallowtail”; http://bugguide.net/node/view/795265

(I have several “dorsal” views of this insect, but its “starboard” hind wing is missing a chunk — including the “tail” — and you can’t see the body in a dorsal view.)

One year ago (“Snowberry Clearwing”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2012-06-25
Two years ago (“At the flower show…”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2011-06-25

[MaryBeth Dailey]

I love this pose too! So elegant! I did not know that about the blue and the female thing! Interesting. We are very concerned here in the Southeast as there seem to be NO butterflies! I saw two of these swallowtails early in the spring, and I have seen a couple of cabbage whites that just keep on moving. I don't know what is up! So for now, I can look at this gorgeous photo!

[Thom Mitchell]

@espyetta Thanks, MaryBeth. If you go to the species page at BAMONA, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, for example, http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Papilio-glaucus, and scroll down the page to the map, the orange circles represent the last couple hundred sightings, I think. You can zoom in on your area and click on a circle. That will give you the sighting date. Indeed for Papilio glaucus, there has only been one confirmed sighting in the Atlanta area this year (in March). :-(

[Thom Mitchell]

@espyetta P.S. Thought of you in the garden last evening: saw the first skipper of the year here. :)

[MaryBeth Dailey]

@rhoing Papilio glaucus is a Yellow Swallowtail? I guess if there is only one confirmed sighting put on the site, then the fact that i saw two together one day long enough to photograph them, makes me lucky! I have seen zero skippers.

[Danette Thompson]

So beautiful!

[Ramona]

this is gorgeous!

[Deanna Russell]

Very nice! I like this perspective too! The wings are always beautiful but I like seeing their bodies too. It is cool how you can see the continuation of stripe from body to wing. fav

[Thom Mitchell]

@espyetta The males and some of the females are yellow.

[Thom Mitchell]

@drussell With some species, it is very helpful to photograph *both* the tops of the wings *and* the bottoms of the wings. This year I have pushed myself to try for both. As you notice in this image, sometimes photographing the bottoms of the wings pays a bonus because the body can be interesting, too!