He must have somehow known that among the images I wanted to capture, was a recent image of a splendid male Papilio glaucus. Female Eastern tiger swallowtails seems so much more plentiful than males. Further, most of the males that you do see are shooting toward you or down the trail away from you, at say 28 mph? Not usually headed to wildflower beds but searching, searching for suitable female insect mates.

His symmetry of color and wing pattern was excellent, had those beautiful blue spots and orange spots on his hindwings and he was fresh and showed off undamaged wings.

This was something about those mid-August mornings that I have puzzled over without concluding why. Why were the butterflies at this Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge on the Delmarva, near Rock Hall, Maryland so young, fresh and intact?

Occasionally  I feel a bit in awe of those of you who share their images of swallowtails west of the Mississippi. They are diverse and very handsome. But then sanity returns and yes, those east of the big river are equally exquisite.

Jeff