A Tiger Swallow Tail Butterfly
I found this Tiger Swallow Tail on the inside of the backdoor of our garage and I don't know where it came from. The garage doors had been open for about 45 minutes. I think it was a new pupate owing to its behavior, resting with open wings (butterflies fold their wings when at rest), and the hind wings are held close to its body. The normal position of the hind wings for this butterfly is partly away from the body leaving a v-shaped open space between the wings and showing the abdomen. The hind wings in this photo are jammed so close together that the red spots on the inner edges are almost hidden. It may have just finished filling out its wings and hardening the veins. Many butterflies pupate with the chrysalis hanging on a plant. The Tiger Swallow Tail pupates on the ground. Whatever the case, this one is a beauty! I was very happy to see this one. It had been several years since spotting any at my location and butterflies have been on the wane such that I have seen only a few in the past 2 years.
I opened the door hoping that the butterfly would be encouraged to seek its way out, but no, it was riveted by the light coming through the window in the door.
The color is a bit off for most of this butterfly. The lighter color of the right side forward wing is correct. That part is being back-lighted by light coming through the window; The remainder of the insect is lighted by the interior lights in the garage. Notice that the door has a slight purple tinge whereas its true color is white. The last time the color balance was done was for outdoor lighting.
After photographing it, came the job of moving the butterfly outside without damaging the creature. I placed my finger on the door and directly in front of it expecting it to fly off and be gone; It did not furthering my belief that it was very new creature. I then touched the rear end of its abdomen to encourage it to move forward which it did. It dutifully climbed upon my finger and held fast. I walked it outside and tried to release it. It did not go. I had become its new resting place. My thought was to transfer it to an upended bucket nearby and take a few more pictures. I brought it down to the bucket and then brought a finger from my other hand near it to cause it to leave. It merely transferred to the other finger.
Time and help arrived by a whiff of breeze plus a bit of vigorous motion of my hand, the butterfly took leave but tried to land on top of my head. It didn't like hair and fluttered away. I never saw it again.
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