Dark morph female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
At the end of March, I was tickled to have this dark morph female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly in my viewfinder at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.
There were several shrubs in bloom by Sally Jones Lake that I believe are Autumn Olives that had attracted butterflies to them. One of the shrubs was just covered up with these swallowtail butterflies.
The Autumn Olives are introduced and are originally from Eastern Asia; these swallowtail butterflies don’t seem to care about that. They appeared to enjoy the nectar the flowers provided.
My challenge was trying to find one of the butterflies out in the open where the background wasn’t super messy or distracting. I took hundreds of photos, and I’ll likely only keep a dozen or so of the images.
It is wonderful seeing all kinds of butterflies and other insects on the wing again after missing them over the winter.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtails are abundant and can be found in the eastern United States from southern Vermont to Florida, west to eastern Texas and the Great Plains. They inhabit deciduous woodlands, forest edges, gardens, parks, meadows, and river valleys.
Sally Jones Lake on the refuge is located in the Arkansas River Valley, and the spot where I photographed this swallowtail and the others is at the edge of a forested area.
I hope that I’ll soon have more of these beautiful butterflies in my viewfinder again. I’ll be back at the refuge after a few spring storm fronts move through!
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my insect and spider images.
Spring is such a wonderful season, and I appreciate your reminders of how special it is. Thanks.