While I was out walking Cole today, I saw a flutter of dark wings in the grass under one of the trees in the front yard. Fortunately I had the camera in my pocket and took this:
This swallowtail didn't appear to be shaped right; it looked as if it had too many wings, or had somehow gotten torn up. The pup thinks butterflies are snack food, so I took him inside before I came back out to see if the swallowtail was hurt or emerging from a cocoon that had fallen out of the tree or something.
Yes. I triage butterflies. Sue me.
It was still there in the exact same spot when I returned. Or, rather, they were:
I'll give you three guesses what they're doing. If you don't get it right in three, you have to go and watch this video.
As for the title of this post, well, I thought it was more romantic than Butterfly Porn. But seriously, is this why they call them swallowtails?
Yes. I triage butterflies. Sue me.
ReplyDeleteBless your heart. :)
They're absolutely beautiful, Lynn.
Just in case you were actually wondering, Swallowtail butterflies get their names from the fact that, as adults, their tails resemble the ones a swallow has.
ReplyDeleteHahaha..."Splendor in the Grass"
ReplyDeleteGreat shots.
ReplyDeleteThough how does one triage a butterfly?
Personally, I like Butterfly Porn best :P
ReplyDeleteI have a butterfly bush and live in a Monarch migration path. It was terrible trying to explain things to the girls when they were little. I finally just told them the big butterflies were making little butterflies and left it at that.
Great pictures though. My camera doesn't take good pictures so I live vicariously through yours :D
Fascinating! We have tons of butterflies around my childhood home, but somehow I never saw them doing this. Never really thought about how it was done either, but interesting nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteLMAO. You caught butterflies going at it. You perv.
ReplyDeleteHeh. I recently rescued a butterfly which got its tongue stuck in a flower. Noticed it flapping in that frantic "gotta get away" manner and thought it was snagged in a spider web, but on closer inspection realized the little knob on the end of its tongue was caught in the inner parts of the flower. Had to dismantle the flower to release it, poor thing. :P
ReplyDelete-CAO-