Eastern Tiger Swallowtails on Buttonbush
Papilio glaucus
                    
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DIN0369
 
left Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Buttonbush Photograph right
 
2017 Photograph, Eastern Tiger Swallowtails (Papilio glaucus, Swallowtail Butterfly Family, Papilionidae) on Leafcup, Occoquan Bay NWR, Woodbridge, Virginia, © 2023.
An interesting side-line on this butterfly is its scientific name.  "Glaucus" means bluish-gray in Latin.  Linnaeus, who established the scientific name, had a black form female which he used in naming  the species based on her color.  Even though the majority of females and all males are the typical tiger-stripe form, the name had been established and the Tiger has been, scientifically speaking, the Bluish-gray Swallowtail ever since.
Jian Zhe Li

Nature Photography, Wildlife Photography, Waterfowl Photography and Bird Photography from Marsh, River, Field and Forest Habitats.
All images Copyright © 1999 - by Gerry Gantt, all rights reserved.