rich coloration | Winged Beauty Butterflies

Texan crescent butterfly (male) photographed by Jeff Zablow at the National Butterfly Center, Mission, TX

We saw quite a few of them in the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas, near the border wall. They fly low, and perch often. They were my first Texan Crescents. I took a liking to them.

I wanted to capture and share their rich coloration. This Texan female pretty much fits the bill.

Some say that are occasional migrants to my middle Georgia, though in these 4 years of visiting the Georgia Piedmont, I’ve never seen one.

It’s in my thinking to return to the Lower Rio Grande Valley late in 2019. I know where to stay, I’d rent a car, but I know of no one who will aid me in finding the hotspots there: Falcon Heights, Santa Anna National Wildlife Refuge, Edinburg Wetlands or Boca China/Rd 4?

Oh I cried so when I left her that it nearly broke my heart, and if I ever find her we never . . .

Jeff

She’s furiously nectaring on teasel wildflowers in Raccoon Creek State Park in western Pennsylvania. She’s now our 5th post of a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly.

Strange, to me, that teasel that is so common along the sides of roads is so critical to so many species of butterflies. Lucky you if you have teasel flourishing on your lot.

It’s true, I love the rich coloration of swallowtail butterflies.

This Tiger swallowtail was especially thoughtful, presenting her full wingspan and holding that pose. The symmetry we enjoy here is not so easy to capture in an image. Tiger swallowtails are usually either difficult to approach or they are moving too quickly to allow for keepable images. So, even though we try not to have the main focus in an image centered, this photo merits center stage.

She has been feeding at Asclepias flowers (milkweed, butterflyweed) for several weeks now, and teasel surely is a welcomed new taste!

Jeffrey