Look Who I Caught Sniffing Around

On Friday, I caught a my first photo of a Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes), but only one, and it was a female.  Today, the Joe Pye Weeds brought in a male.  Note the much more striking yellow markings, and much less blue markings.  No underwing shot, but I did get a look, and it had the classic set of double orange spots.

Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

The number of butterflies on those Joe Pye Weeds is amazing.  At any one time, there are usually as many as 5-6 Eastern Tiger Swallowtails (both yellow and black morph), a couple of Monarchs, a couple of Spicebush Swallowtails, a host of skippers, a couple of Clear Wing Hummingbird Moths, and maybe an American or Painted Lady or a Red Admiral.  There are also numerous kinds of bees and wasps gathering pollen and nectar too.

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)

Eastern Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) black morph - all female