

Black Swallowtail
(Papilio polyxenes)
Foraging flowers
Fluttering wings
Beat
Ragged and torn
Membranes stretched
Over
Skeletal veins
Luminescent patches
Cling
Blues scatter
Iridescence seen



Foraging flowers
Fluttering wings
Beat
Ragged and torn
Membranes stretched
Over
Skeletal veins
Luminescent patches
Cling
Blues scatter
Iridescence seen


I was out digging up elm trees, pruning roses, and fixing one of the drip systems in the wee hours of the morning. While walking between my different tasks, I noticed a few Buckeye Butterflies feeding on the little morning glories growing in the mulch. I grabbed my camera, and followed one around as it flew from one morning glory to another.
It didn’t open its wings other than to fly or do quick flutters to catch its balance against a sudden breeze. I had to catch it in flight or while it was catching it’s balance to get photos of it with its wings open, so there is movement in some of the shots.



This is a male Queen Butterfly feeding on purple wildflowers in the bosque. You can tell he’s a male by the black, teardrop shaped spots on the lower inside of his wings that are pheromone scales. Unlike Monarch butterflies that don’t use pheromones to attract mates, the Queens do.








I made a short video (with flamenco guitar) of the swarm of painted ladies on our purple Salvia.


A swarm of Painted Ladies descended on our purple salvia this morning. The Checkered Whites have been around for a while.




You can see the full series of these amorous Clouded Sulphur butterflies at http://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2016/8/clouded-sulphur
See more photos at http://photos.tandlphotos.com/blog/2016/7/monarch-mimic