It was definitely exciting to see my first Monarch butterflies of the season last Friday at Green Spring Gardens, but I was equally delighted to see some other beautiful butterflies that day. The one in the first photo is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) on a flower that I later learned is a Mexican sunflower. I am pretty sure that the butterfly in the second image is a Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus), although the angle of this shot keeps me from being absolutely certain. I am not sure what kind of flower it is feeding on, but it sure was pretty.
Although I spend a lot of time in streams, fields, and marshes, I enjoy visiting gardens from time to time. It is stimulating to all of the senses to see all of the bright colors and smell the fragrant flowers. There were plenty of bees too and occasional forays into the flowers by goldfinches and hummingbirds. It was a good day.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Very beautiful, Mike. Could the flowers in the second image be some sort of lilies?
Thanks, Chris. The shapes of the flowers did remind me of lilies and I know that there a lots of varieties of lilies. I’ll let you know if I get any further info on the flowers.
Very nice butterfly images Mike! Enjoyed seeing them!