I went on a pretty long hike yesterday in Prince William Forest Park—just over 18,000 steps (7.1 miles or 11 km) according to my iPhone—and was delighted to spot this beautiful Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus), my first of the season.
When I first spotted the butterfly, it appeared to be sucking moisture and minerals from the wet soil, as you can see in the first photo. The butterfly flew to a nearby location and resumed its efforts and I was able to maneuver around to get the second image that shows the markings of the butterfly a bit better.
Personally I prefer the first photo that is more dynamic and gives a better sense of the activity of the butterfly. From a purely scientific perspective, the second one might be preferable because it shows more of the butterfly’s identification features. I am more of an artist than a scientist, though, so capturing all of the details with clinical precision is not as important to me.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
It’s early in the season for it to have lost its tails!
Nice images, both.
I wondered about that too. I wonder if this particular butterfly just happens to have short tails. Who knows?
Nice to be back into butterfly season! Nice captures, Mike, and such a vivid yellow.
I have seen some dragonflies in the last week, speedy ones so no images, but a sure sign of spring.