Sunday, November 6, 2011

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

The eastern tiger swallowtail is one of the most impressive butterflies in the eastern United States. It was first recorded in 1587 when it was drawn by John White during Sir Walter Raleigh's third expedition to the new world. It was originally thought to have a range that included much of Canada but in 1991 the Canadian tiger swallowtail was separated into its own species.
Here in the northern part of its range the eastern tiger typically has two broods per year. Eggs are laid on a larval host plant, which includes wild cherry, Magnolia, tulip tree, birch, ash and willow trees. The caterpillars rest on silken mats on the top of the leaves. The eastern tiger over winters in its' pupae form, chrysalis.

9 comments:

Jeannelle said...

Beautiful captures!

Kim, USA said...

Beautiful macro shots!

Mi Macro

Spare Parts and Pics said...

Beautiful photos and appreciate the information.

Unknown said...

good use of DOF for the macros!

My Third Eye

A Bit of the Blarney said...

Absolutely beautiful!!!! Just wonderful shots!!! Have a grand day!!! Cathy

genie said...

Stunning macros. We saw these all over the place summer before last but not this summer. I cannot figure out why. It was so sad. genie

Ida said...

Stunning! I love this Butterfly but they are so hard to capture as most of the time I just see them flying and not landing.

Kala said...

Gorgeous colors and shallow depth in these photos.

Happy MM

Firas said...

As you said, I too feel it's the most impressive butterfly I have seen. Great catch and superb shot!