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Pipevine Swallowtail

I am still on the hunt for a Spicebush Swallowtail. What I didn’t account for was the number of look-alikes that dwell in the Appalachian Mountains. The more that read up on the differences between the Swallowtail Butterflies the more that I’ve had to go back and check references as I sort through my photos. I have Spicebush on my property. I have taken lots of butterfly pictures. There should be at least one of the Spicebush Swallowtail. What I’ve discovered is that the majority of black and blue photos that I have are of the Pipevine Swallowtail.

The online guides all show that a major distinction between the two species is that the abdomen of the Pipevine Swallowtail is blue.

Pipevine Swallowtails get their name from the fact that they host on pipevine which is also known as Camphor Vine.

A twisted camphor vine in Kanawha County West Virginia.

As the larvae feeds on the Pipevine it sequesters certain chemicals in the vine that makes it taste horrible to predators. Or so the experts say. I’m not a bit envious of the scientists who had to test that theory. 🤢

The males are know to collect and accumulate sodium from the mud as a gift to bribe the female with. Wikipedia says that this is most common in presence of other rival males. I checked and found that I have a photo of this behavior.

I believe that this photo shows two male Pipevine Swallowtails gathering sodium from the mud while a female in the middle waits to see who has the better gift.

An insect’s nervous system is dependent on the same mineral balance as a human. But they can’t can’t really get everything they need from nectar. So butterflies and some others look for those dissolved minerals in wet places.

Trying to get a good shot of a butterfly has proven to be a little bit of challenge. I stepped out of the house yesterday to find a blue and black Swallowtail zooming around my yard like a jet fighter. Even using the same technique that I’ve used to photograph athletes failed to provide a positive ID on the butterfly.

This is a blue and black Swallowtail coming in low like a jet fighter but I still can’t get a positive ID on which kind.

I needed a good look at the underside of the wings. I followed the behavior pattern of this particular butterfly and noticed that it seemed to be flying a figure eight pattern as it searched for nectar. I anticipated it’s next loop and keeping my camera in burst mode I managed to get a shot in the underside of the wings.

I managed to catch the underside of the wings as the butterfly engaged in a breaking maneuver.

The angle of the sun caused the butterfly to be in it’s own shadow but I can make out a single row of dots on the underside of the wings. If this were a Spicebush Swallowtail there would be a double row. The single row of dots and the fact that at least one of the dots is blue and not orange tells me that it’s most likely to be a dark morph of the female Tiger Swallowtail.

And so the search for a Spicebush Swallowtail continues for now. I know that there’s one close by and that I just need to be in the right place at the right time to catch it.

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Tiger Swallowtail

Color Photography, wildlife

As I continue to watch the swarm of butterflies on the weeds near my day job I’m reminded of the iconic animation of flowers turning into butterflies and filling the air. There was so many colors swirling around that it was a little surreal. The entomology class that I took focused on pest control and we tended to lump all of the Swallowtail Butterflies into one group. And it actually wasn’t until I started researching for this series that I learned of all the subspecies. This one is the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.

Tonight’s feature image is a male. The males are always yellow and do not have blue spots on the hind wings.

The female Tiger Swallowtail seems to have a diverse wardrobe. That ranges from light yellow to dark black.

Tiger Swallowtail Female , Dark Morph. — A female Tiger Swallowtail ( dark morph).

The female always has blue dots on the lower hind wings and is easy to confuse with the Spicebush Swallowtail. ( The Spicebush Swallowtail will be in an upcoming post)

A notable behavior of the Tiger Swallowtail is puddling. They tend to gather together on the edges of water for a drink. It’s not uncommon for butterflies to get water and minerals this way but it’s only the Tiger Swallowtail that I’ve seen doing this as a group. When I was a teenager I remember one trip to the lake when one of my friends managed to capture several of the Tiger Swallowtails at once. He grinned and slipped beneath the surface taking the butterflies with him. At the time I thought that the butterflies would be harmed but now I know that insects are basically balloons. Their complex respiratory system actually gives them the ability to hold their breath for several minutes. When he released them under water he managed to keep them in a bubble and the sight of the butterflies emerging from the water was pretty spectacular.

With the knowledge of puddling I think that it might be possible to entice the Swallowtail Butterflies to come closer by mixing a salty/sweet solution and soaking a sponge for them to gather on.

I don’t have a picture of the catipiller but it’s kinda special too. The Swallowtail catipiller has a butt that mimics the head of a snake complete with large cartoon eyes!

As we head into summer some of more colorful blooms will the choice food for butterflies of all kinds and I hope to bring you some spectacular images. Have a blessed day everyone!

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Forage Friday # 14, Brambles

Color Photography, Forage Friday

Hiker's Delight — Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Hiker’s Delight” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.

Tonight’s Forage Friday is one that everyone should be familiar with. Brambles!

I have chosen to lump all of the various types under the umbrella of Brambles but they include, Loganberries, Boysenberries, Blackberries and Raspberries as well as dewberries. Most people know that these are all clusters of berries that grow on thorn covered canes. A few will even know that the easy way to tell the difference between a true blackberry and a black raspberry is that the raspberries normally have a cup shaped berry and are usually smaller. Tonight’s feature image is actually a Black Raspberry in my property that was storm damaged but fruited anyway.

Now, every country boy knows that the proper way to enjoy brambles is in the form of a fresh baked cobbler that is served warm with vanilla ice cream. This is to be enjoyed at a large table during a family meal and preferably on Sunday afternoon. 😉 This was always something that we looked forward to when I was a kid. Even today the sight of brambles growing on the edge of a field or some seldom traveled dirt road conjures up the memories of my grandma’s house and the smells of a home cooked meal. Back in those days the extended family wasn’t spread out across the globe. Every Sunday was like a family reunion.

There’s definitely an art to picking brambles. Long sleeves and gloves are common recommendations but I have to wonder if the person who wrote those recommend guidelines lived in the South. Brambles usually ripen during the hottest time of the year here. For me dealing with a few scratches on my arms is preferable to heat stroke. I have a long stick with a metal hook that I made from a broken sickle that has proven to be useful for pulling the canes closer rather than trying to work myself into a mass of thorns. The ripe berries come off with the slightest touch and sometimes it’s possible to just shake the cane over a bucket. Unless you’re making a wine from them you don’t want to fill the bucket too full or the berries on the bottom are crushed. The best harvest that I ever had came from a patch that had been trampled. I strolled into the middle of the broken canes and filled all my buckets in no time. I was pretty upset with whoever the other forager was for destroying such a large patch with little regard for the next guy when something happened that sent chills up my spine. My foot slipped a little and I looked down to find that I had stepped in bear scat! Needless to say that I decided not to confront the bear concerning it’s lack of etiquette.

A secondary harvest that most people overlook is the bramble leaves. Collecting the leaves and curing them out for teas. The real secret to any wild tea is the steeping time. About five minutes is recommended for brambles. Bramble leaves are rich in tannins and can become a little bitter if steeped for too long or in water that’s too hot. Herbalists do use a strong bramble leaf tea to treat certain types of diarrhea and the leaves have antimicrobial agents that is said to make them useful for treating certain infections. The leaf is also used for making a skin wash for acne. But as always, please remember that I am not a trained herbalist and that my Forage Friday posts are just talking points.

I have successfully transplanted wild brambles to a place closer to my home. They prefer partial sun and soil that gets plenty of water but that drains well. The wild varieties don’t really seem to be bothered by diseases but the presence of hickory, walnuts or pecans are a death sentence. Trees from the juglandaceae family secrete a poison that kills out the competition.

I have tried to provide a quick and simple start on foraging brambles and Friday has almost ended so I’m going to end the article here and make plans for buying some vanilla ice cream to go with the harvest on the edge of my yard.

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Painted Ladies

Color Photography, West Virginia

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Painted Lady On Dogbane 1” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.

As I stood on the edge of yard outside of the office building the butterflies continued to playfully feed on the bloom of the Indian Hemp. Across my my right shoulder one of more colorful ones fluttered by to land on the small white flowers. When it landed it folded it’s wings to show the silvery patterns on underside of the rear set. It was a painted lady.

These small colorful butterflies are found in both the old and new world. In the old world they migrate between Europe and Africa. The experts seem to debate on which populations actually cross the ocean but at least some do.

Back in North America the painted ladies stay mostly in the United States and Southern Canada with one population mapped in Mexico.

It’s been observed by some scientists that the population seems to boom during periods of heavy rain. I’m guessing that might have something to do with the rain and warm weather causing the plants to have growth spurts which means more flowers and thus more food for the butterflies.

Last night I mentioned that the Great Spangled Fritillary was host specific to violets and laid it’s eggs where there would be violets for the catipiller to feed on but Painted Ladies are not as choosey. They host on over one hundred species of plants.

The males, ( still called painted ladies) are territorial and will actually have aerial duels with rivals. They pick a roost and return to it after fight.

The last little bit of trivia for tonight’s post is that painted ladies see in the ultraviolet ranges but probably cannot tell the difference between red and green. Which incidentally is something that they have in common with honeybees.

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The Great Spangled Fritillary

Color Photography, wildlife

Spangled Fritillary And Indian Hemp — Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled Spangled “Fritillary And Indian Hemp” and is available for purchase by following the instructions at the bottom of the article.

When I stepped out the door of the office I was greeted by the fluttering of wings. The patch of Indian Hemp was full of butterflies. In fact there was several varieties. I saw little wood nymphs, painted ladies, yellow and black Swallowtail butterflies as well as small blues. I’ll be posting pictures of some of them later but tonight it’s the Great Spangled Fritillary.

Butterflies and moths are host specific. They require certain plants to complete their lifecycles. For the Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly the host plants are native violets. Which means that if you want this type of butterfly then you’ll want to encourage native violets for the catipiller. During the summer months the female Fritillary lays her eggs on the violets but after they hatch they remain dormant until Spring. Only then will they begin to feed on the violet leaves. The catipiller will molt six times before it gets it’s wings! And what beautiful wings they’re going to be! I’m not really certain but I believe that the feature image shows a male. In researching the article I learned that the females are more brown than the male. Either way it’s a beautiful species.

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