All our amazing spring wildflowers have also brought in plenty of pollinators. Of course, some of the most noticeable pollinators are butterflies, especially large butterflies like swallowtails. Since the weather has warmed up, I have seen lots of Palamedes swallowtails (Papilio Palamedes) on my hikes, on flowers, fluttering by me in the yard, and on the roadsides while I’m driving, but I have had no luck getting any decent photos of any of them. Earlier the his week, I stopped on my way home to photograph some prickly pear cactus flowers. Just as I was getting back in my truck, I noticed a Palamedes swallowtail feeding on one of the many purple thistle flowers (Cirsium horridulum). I’m nothing if not persistent, so even though they tend to flutter constantly, and never stay put very long, I decided to try to get some shots. It was windy that afternoon and it actually worked in my favor. The butterfly had to use its wings quite a bit to steady itself, so it wasn’t able to flutter them continuously. Between that and using a very fast shutter speed, I actually got some good shots. This butterfly was definitely a little bit tattered, but, at least in my opinion, still quite pretty.