the "Have You Seen Any Of These Recently In Your Area? Story

It was an ordinary day.  Searching the neighborhood at Woodcrest Villa for one of the prettiest and most familiar butterflies in North America, the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.  This butterfly is a native to eastern North America and is one of the most familiar butterflies in the eastern United States, ranging north to southern Ontario, Canada, and is common in many different habitats.  It flies from spring to fall, during which it produces two to three broods.  Adults feed on the nectar of many species of flowers.  The male is yellow with four black, “tiger” stripes on each forewing.  Females may be either yellow or black, making them dimorphic.  The yellow morph is similar to the male, but with a conspicuous band of blue spots along the hindwing, while the dark morph is almost completely black. 

The Chrysalis stage

Their green eggs are laid singly on plants of the famalilies Magnoliaceae and Rosaceae.  Young caterpillars are brown and white; older ones are green with two black, yellow, and blue eyespots on the thorax.  The caterpillar will turn brown prior to pupating.  It will reach a length of 5.5 centimentres.  The chrysalis varies from a whitish color to dark brown.  Hibernation occurs in this stage in locations with cold winter months. 

The male which has very few blue spots on it's tail

The eastern tiger swallowtail is the state butterfly of Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina and is the state insect of Virginia.  They have a wingspan from 3.1 to 5.5 inches with females being the larger.  Males are yellow with four black “tiger stripes” on each forewing.  The outer edge of the forewing is black with a row of yellow spots.  The veins are marked with black.  The postmedian area of the hindwing is black with yellow spots along the margin.  The inner margin of the hindwing has small red and blue spots.  The ventral forewing margin has a yellow bar that is broken into spots.  

The female with blue spots on wings

It can be found in the estern United States from southern Vermont to Florida west to eastern Texas and the Great plains.  It is common throughout its range, although is rarer in southern Florida and absent from the Florida west to eastern Texas and the Great plains.  In 1932, a single specimen was collected in County Wicklow, Ireland.  It is believed to have been an accidental introduction from North America, perhaps taking a ride on a boat!  The eastern tiger swallowtail was formerly considered a single species with a vast range into northern Canada and the eastern United States.  The eastern tiger swallowtail, Papilio glaucus, is probably the most polyphagous of all 560+ species of swallowtail butterflies in the world.  Fun to watch and enjoy no matter where you may find them.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.