A Little Saturday Morning Nature

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s butterfly posting:

I snapped this Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucas) flitting about one of the Konglings last evening.  The O-fficial Butterfly of the great Commonwealth of Virginny, we have approximately a gagillion of them about the place.

Anyone who thinks that butterflies flit hither and yon aimlessly has never paid attention to their actual flight patterns: They know exactly what they’re doing and are really quite masterful in their manouvers.  They also like to tease – it took me about fifteen minutes to get this little bugger to sit still long enough to get a decent shot.

Oh, and here’s one of his mates:

Note that this one doesn’t have the spur thingies at the back of its wings. Dunno if that is because it’s a different sex from the first or because it’s lost the spurs somehow or other.