When it comes to wildlife photography, I do not do well. The main reason is because creatures do not stand still and wait for me to poise them, unlike, say, flowers. Flowers look at me and I look back at them and all is good, except when the wind blows.
But this butterfly was so intent on his (or her?) Queen Anne's Lace flower, it just waited for me to get close enough to take some pictures with my old iPhone.
As you can tell, I'm a beginner with butterflies. This year, working from home since March, I've taken walks several times a week on a floodwall which has been full of wildflowers. I'm seeing lots of different butterflies - definitely sulphurs and monarchs. Is this an Eastern Swallowtail? I couldn't get a non blurry picture of it because these are enlarged.
Still closer. At this point the markings sure look like pictures of black swallowtails I saw online, but where are the blue dots?
As close as I can get. My uneducated guest is that this is a black swallowtail female getting ready to lay eggs. My reading indicates black swallowtails like to lay their eggs on plants of the carrot family.
I really need to get a butterfly guide, but in the meantime, is there anyone who can tell me more about these pictures?
I can't take good shots of anything. I can see this beautiful butterfly though. I don't think I've ever seen a black butterfly before. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.
Have a fabulous Wordless Wednesday. ♥
...some monarchs were cooperative for me over the weekend.
ReplyDeleteI know very little about butterflies. But those pictures are nice.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed in some photos elsewhere you can't really see the blue well from underneath. It also looks like yours has pretty ragged wings, I don't see the "tails," so maybe the blue part is missing? OR... a polydamas swallowtail out of its range?
ReplyDeleteYou're doing better than me with the butterfly pictures. I hope someone knows enough to answer your questions.
ReplyDelete