I love the look of this black-colored swallowtail butterfly feeding on a cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) in the marsh—I just wish that I could identify the butterfly with greater certainty.
I used to think that there were only a few varieties of black-colored swallowtails, but as I learn about more species, I get more confused when trying to identify them. Most of the time I think that this is a Pipevine Swallowtail, but at other moments I convince myself that this is a Spicebush Swallowtail or even a Black Swallowtail. Whatever species it is, this butterfly kept its wings flapping pretty quickly as it was feeding, which accounts for the motion blur in the wings.
I really like the color and shape of the cardinal flower and wanted to show some of the buds and petals, so I decided not to crop the shot any tighter. I was a little surprised to find this butterfly on the cardinal flower, because I read in one document on the internet that these flowers are pollinated almost exclusively by hummingbirds.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
It’s beautiful, whatever it is. I used to complain about identifying plants until I started trying to identify insects. Now I realize that I had it easy back then.
I think it might be the spice bush swallowtail, because it is the only butterfly with a proboscis long enough to feed on the cardinal flower nectar. I doubt the butterfly is doing any pollinating though, so technically it is a nectar thief.
That makes a lot of sense, Sue. I was focusing so much on colors that I forgot to look at other identifying features, like the proboscis. I hadn’t seen the term “nectar thief” applied to a butterfly before, but it fits equally well for this butterfly as for the bees that get nectar by drilling in from the side of a bloom.
Sorry, forgot to include the website on which I found this information: https://eyeonnature.wordpress.com/tag/spicebush-swallowtail/
Goregous!
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