Swallowtail on Lantana
by AnnaJo Vahle
Title
Swallowtail on Lantana
Artist
AnnaJo Vahle
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail � Papilio glaucus
I photographed this beauty in my backyard on Merritt Island, Florida. I believe it to be an adult female feeding on lantana flowers, which are a magnet for butterflies and hummingbirds.
The first known drawing of a North American butterfly was that of an Eastern tiger swallowtail. It was drawn by John White in 1587, during Sir Walter Raleigh�s third expedition to �Virginia. White names his drawing �Mamankanois�. It is believed to be a Native American word for butterfly. This species was later described by Linnaeus in his 10th edition of Systema Naturae in 1758.
The color of the eastern tiger swallowtail can vary, Males are yellow or yellow-orange with black tiger stripes. Their wings are bordered in black with yellow spots. There are black �tiger stripes� running across the top of their wings. Their long black tails have blue patches on them. Female colors can range from the yellow of the male to an almost solid bluish-black. Their wing span is between 3 5/8 and 6 � inches. There are two morphs of adult females, a yellow and a dark one. The yellow morph is similar to the male, except that the hind wings have an area of blue between the black margins and the main yellow area.
The eastern tiger swallowtail can be found in North America east of the Rocky Mountains from Ontario south to the Gulf coast and northern Mexico.
The larvae eat the leaves of a variety of woody plants including wild cherry, tulip, birch, ash, cottonwood and willow. Adults eat the nectar of flowers from a variety of plants.
Females lay single green colored eggs on the leaves of woody plans. The caterpillar is brown and white when it is young. When it matures it is green with orange and black false eyespots. The chrysalids over winter.
Eastern tiger swallowtails are loners. Males will fly from place to place looking for a mate.
Uploaded
October 17th, 2014
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Viewed 1,015 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/13/2024 at 9:00 AM
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Comments (32)
Gary F Richards
Outstanding Swallowtail on Lantana composition, lighting, shading, excellent color and artwork! F/L voted
Al Powell Photography USA
Congratulations, this IMAGE is now FEATURED on the GODS GORGEOUS BACKYARD BEAUTY group home page.
Maria Hunt
So perfectly balanced and marvelously capture... Put this in any contest and the VOTES will come... Priceless. F/L
Melly Terpening
Beautiful butterfly, AnnaJo. Nicely captured! L&F
AnnaJo Vahle replied:
Thank you Melly. I am delighted to hear from you. You are always so kind to me.
Jimmie Bartlett
Awesome photography! Framed with the painter's eye. Love the macro and rich colors! F,L,tw
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