Central Florida is filled with many beautiful butterflies, and for some reason I seem to have not been giving them their fair share of attention. I guess it’s because there are an absolutely amazing number of interesting and often quite beautiful insects here to look at, photograph, and write about. Butterflies, of course, are a favorite of pretty much everyone though, even folks who otherwise dislike insects. And one of everyone’s favorite butterflies is the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. It’s the second largest butterfly in the United States and it has bright yellow and black wings, making it quite showy. Although the Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly can only be found from southern Ontario to south Florida (but notably not in the Florida Keys) and west into Texas and the midwestern US, the Western tiger swallowtail butterfly, which looks almost identical can be found in most of the western States.

During my afternoon trip to Henry Beck Park I got the opportunity to photograph several Eastern tiger swallowtails down by the little stream that runs through the park. Trying to photograph them in flight was extremely difficult because they move in a very quick and erratic way. While I was sitting beside the stream at one point some people in tubes floated down the stream and got out on the steps near me. The wet spots that they left on the steps were very attractive to the butterflies. They came one by one to sit near the wet spots and do a behavior called puddling. When they do this, they are drinking from the puddle and flapping their wings from time to time. When they do this they extract sodium and amino acids from the water. Males use these to help improve their mating ability and both sexes use them to help extend their life span. Eastern tiger swallowtails are far from the only species to participate in this behavior, but it does provide a great opportunity for photographing them!

Eastern tiger swallowtails are notable for several reasons besides their large size and attractiveness. First, they are sexually dimorphic (males and females have different appearances). Both sexes have the four chevron shaped stripes on their forewings, but only the females have blue and red markings on the hind wings. Females can also come in a dark morph where the yellow is replaced by a dark grey or black. Males do not come in this color morph, which did cause some confusion for early naturalists. Second, the Eastern tiger swallowtail is typically a very good eater. It’s favorites are the nectar and pollen of plants with red or pink flowers such as phlox, honeysuckle, and wild cherry. But unlike most other butterflies, Eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies will also eat other things including carrion, feces, and urine. Finally, this interesting butterfly is the State Butterfly of Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Delaware, and it is the State Insect of Virginia! So if you’re out and about in the Eastern United States, keep an eye open for these gorgeous and interesting butterflies.