That bottom guy is stupendous. Zebra Swallowtails do not show up in my neck of the woods to my knowledge.

a2zmom, such great photos. Do you use your phone or camera? My phone takes pretty lousy pictures lol.

Iris nice photos too! I've been enjoying the swallowtails in my garden the last few days as well.

:)

Dee

It's actually a Samsung phone camera, not even close to the newest model (I refuse to spend that kind of money) but it does have a good camera. The trick is to get close, take the picture on blow up and take a lot of shots. My brain is always yelling at me to stop taking puictures and get back to weeding but that doesn't usually happen. I carry my phone in my pocket whenever I garden (I specifically buy my pants to have deep front pockets) and I just yank off my gloves at a moments notice.

That said, there are certain things only a good 35mm will do - for example, it's close to impossible to get the color correct on my bright red dianthus. I'll have to get my youngest to come out - he actually owns a film camera.

I'm always happy to see the butterflies, bees and beneficial insects! :)

@FrozeBudd_z3/4 I am so relieved that this year there has been a lot of activity. It makes me a little hopeful.

A2zmom, I'm seeing a good deal of bumblebees, honeybees and certain butterflies, though almost nothing for yellow jackets and hornets, not that I particularly like the latter, though they're important predatory insects. I wish the dragonflies would step up their game as they usually do, though this years hatch of mosquitoes mostly dominate the cool of the morning and warmth of the evenings when the dragonflies are for the most part inactive, though I did see a few flying around as it was becoming rather dim yesterday evening.