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Posts Tagged "Black Swallowtail"

Eastern Purple Coneflower

Posted on Jul 28, 2015

Eastern Purple Coneflower

This Eastern Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) makes for a spectacular “ornamental” type of plant for boxes and plots! I put ornamental in quotation marks because it is far more than a decorative object or flashy looking flower. It is a native perennial that is very popular among our pollinators, and adding them to your garden – wherever it may be – will not only give it a lovely look but also a feeding frenzy of insects. On the day I took this photo I saw Black Swallowtails, Spicebush Swallowtails, Orange and Clouded Sulphurs, Cabbage Whites, a Viceroy, and...

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Leps & Odes

Posted on Jul 20, 2015

Leps & Odes

This is a busy time of year for the dragonflies and butterflies of our lands! Here is a Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina) and Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes), two gorgeous species you may be able to find in your own favorite patch right now. Go outside today and enjoy the summer activity! Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Connecticut while on assignment for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.

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Busy Black Swallowtail

Posted on Jun 25, 2015

Busy Black Swallowtail

After seeing many Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) butterflies and little else on the wing for much of the spring, they have dropped off in number as others increase. What have your observations been? I have been surprised at how (relatively) few Eastern Tiger Swallowtails have been in the air except for a week or two in May. The harsh and historically cold winter likely changed the lepidoptera landscape for us more than usual. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator

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Black Swallowtail

Posted on May 12, 2015

Black Swallowtail

After a long, cold and snowy winter it has taken a bit of time for the first Lepidoptera to start to emerge, but we are off! We will definitely be showing you more of the butterflies and moths we spot over the next several months. Here we have the Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) enjoying those “weeds”, also known as early season sources of nectar and pollen for our insects. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator

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Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)

Posted on Sep 1, 2014

Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)

I have not seen many Black Swallowtails this year with a few here or there at best – what about you? I had been seeing an abundance of the common Eastern Tiger Swallowtail throughout the spring until their numbers plummeted to near zero in my experience Western New York throughout the summer. It continually astounds me how localized populations of even the more frequently seen species can be and how rapidly and unexpectedly their numbers can fluctuate. Nature is a delicate balance.

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