Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies Nectaring

[Alicia7777777]

Very beautiful... 5*. Thank you.

[Pebbleprominent]

I saw these while on holiday in California - they look like Scarce swallowtails you get in France, but I think the most lovely swallowtail is the Papilio machaon, the proper only British swallowtail. I did find a larva of it in France this summer though, and reared it through to pupation. Now I have a lovely Papilio machaon in my collection.

[jcmegabyte]

P. machaon is definitely a nice bug. I've heard that they fly in Canada, too (possibly a subspecies) but there are none further south where I am. Fortunately, we quite a few Swallowtail species here to keep us busy. :-)

[jcmegabyte]

I don't think I've ever encountered any endangered species, probably because I've never gone to the specific places where they're known to fly. There are several protected species in CA, and some areas where you can't collect anything at all (mostly preserves and National Parks). The rules can be complex. I HAVE gone looking for rare and difficult to find species, however, sometimes with success, and other times not! Thanks for watching my little adventure :D

[loveyoutodeathbut]

Do you ever see endangered species when you are out on your trips?

[jules10109]

I wanted to see something beautiful today and remembered your nature vids...:)

I certianly found what I was looking for XD

[jcmegabyte]

Thanks! I just got back from another desert trip this afternoon. Hopefully there will be some good live footage from today's outing soon! :D

[jules10109]

Awesome!  I look forward to it. ;D

[wildstar1]

Beautiful!

[Kruizinby]

Gee butterflies are awesome creatures. My favourite is the Ulysses. GORGEOUS colour.

[jcmegabyte]

I agree - Papilio ulysses is one of my favorites too. I wish we had them here!

[Kruizinby]

I have a male (taxidermy) in a perspex box I bought from a Butterfly Farm years ago. Most gorgeous thing. He's about 4 or so inches so not as big as they can get but there's no loss of the wow effect!

[jcmegabyte]

I know what you mean - I have a couple in my collection. Definitely spectacular bugs. You have some pretty cool Swallowtails there - especially in the northern parts of the country. Nature is just amazing :-)

[woosteria]

Beautiful

[verbatim5813]

1st