{"id":173926,"date":"2026-04-02T07:43:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T12:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=173926"},"modified":"2026-04-02T07:43:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T12:43:25","slug":"dark-morph-female-eastern-tiger-swallowtail-at-sequoyah-nwr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/04\/02\/dark-morph-female-eastern-tiger-swallowtail-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","title":{"rendered":"Dark Morph Female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail At Sequoyah NWR"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DarkDark morph female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

There were several shrubs in bloom by Sally Jones Lake that I believe are Autumn Olives<\/span><\/a> that had attracted butterflies to them. One of the shrubs was just covered up with these swallowtail butterflies.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

It is wonderful seeing all kinds of butterflies and other insects on the wing again after missing them over the winter.<\/p>\n

Eastern Tiger Swallowtails<\/span><\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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!<\/p>\n

Life\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click\u00a0here<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to see more of my insect and spider images.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":173923,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16602,13973,13974],"tags":[17456,6098,14190,13984,6041,6042,4530,16608,17457,4070,6518,16609,6188,165,12003,12004],"class_list":["post-173926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eastern-tiger-swallowtail-butterflies","category-oklahoma","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-autumn-olive","tag-blooming","tag-bottomland-hardwood-forest","tag-bottomlands","tag-butterflies","tag-butterfly","tag-dark-morph","tag-eastern-tiger-swallowtail","tag-elaeagnus-umbellata","tag-female","tag-flowering","tag-papilio-glaucus","tag-shrub","tag-spring","tag-swallowtail","tag-swallowtails"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/eastern-tiger-swallowtail-dark-autumn-olive-mia-mcpherson-2011.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-Jfg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":151172,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/08\/01\/summer-eastern-tiger-swallowtail-butterfly-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":173926,"position":0},"title":"Summer Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I'm sharing two photos of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly taken yesterday in Arkansas. The butterfly was very cooperative.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly in Arkansas, Sebastian County","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/eastern-tiger-swallowtail-male-mia-mcpherson-4988.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/eastern-tiger-swallowtail-male-mia-mcpherson-4988.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/eastern-tiger-swallowtail-male-mia-mcpherson-4988.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/eastern-tiger-swallowtail-male-mia-mcpherson-4988.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":132509,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/08\/16\/more-new-butterflies-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":173926,"position":1},"title":"More New Butterflies At Sequoyah NWR!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, when I shared the pale young Raccoon, I mentioned that I also photographed some butterflies at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. Here they are!","rel":"","context":"In "Oklahoma"","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pipevine Swallowtail next to the Arkansas River, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/pipevine-swallowtail-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-1350.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/pipevine-swallowtail-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-1350.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/pipevine-swallowtail-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-1350.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/pipevine-swallowtail-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-1350.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/pipevine-swallowtail-male-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-4096.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/pipevine-swallowtail-male-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-4096.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/pipevine-swallowtail-male-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-4096.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/pipevine-swallowtail-male-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-4096.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":175198,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/04\/19\/spicebush-swallowtail-butterfly-on-lyreleaf-sage\/","url_meta":{"origin":173926,"position":3},"title":"Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly On Lyreleaf Sage","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this month, I photographed this Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly feeding on a plant I hadn't identified at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Oklahoma"","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly nectaring on Lyreleaf Sage, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/spicebush-swallowtail-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-3832.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/spicebush-swallowtail-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-3832.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/morgan-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Two-tailed Swallowtail on Showy Milkweed, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Two-tailed-Swallowtail-on-showy-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-9160.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Two-tailed-Swallowtail-on-showy-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-9160.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Two-tailed-Swallowtail-on-showy-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-9160.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Two-tailed-Swallowtail-on-showy-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-9160.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":134302,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/09\/10\/urban-spicebush-swallowtail-in-arkansas\/","url_meta":{"origin":173926,"position":5},"title":"Urban Spicebush Swallowtail In Arkansas","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 10, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Bird activity was slow yesterday when this Spicebush Swallowtail flew in and landed on the grass nearby. I quickly stood up to photograph the swallowtail.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spicebush Swallowtail in grass, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/spicebush-swallowtail-in-grass-mia-mcpherson-7542.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/spicebush-swallowtail-in-grass-mia-mcpherson-7542.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/spicebush-swallowtail-in-grass-mia-mcpherson-7542.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/spicebush-swallowtail-in-grass-mia-mcpherson-7542.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}