A tale of two butterflies

Last weekend Anne & I walked down through the patch of native prairie that separates our neighborhood from White Rock Lake Park, en route to the Northwest Hwy. construction area to see how efforts were proceeding on the bike/hike trail there.

While traversing the mixed hardwood forest we spied this drowsy Giant Swallowtail perched on some nearby foliage. I was packing just a 50mm normal lens, so carefully approached to try and fill up the frame as much as possible. He remained quiescent during the process; I probably could have gotten a little closer, but decided not to disturb him.

Giant in the forest

Later that evening we found this showy Eastern Black Swallowtail sipping nectar from the backyard garden — specifically from the blooms of lantana, a perennial butterfly favorite.

Eastern black on lantana

Late summer evenings in North Texas sometimes herald the appearance of what amounts to a private traveling art show, courtesy of Mother Nature.

Eastern Black Swallowtail

Thanks, Mom!

Tags: butterflies, nature, photography, texas

• September 14, 2012
• flowers, nature, photography
• 9 Comments