Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly on Verbena
by Karen Adams
Title
Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly on Verbena
Artist
Karen Adams
Medium
Photograph - Fine Art Digital Prints - Photography
Description
I really loved how the lighting and the background came out in this one. Taking photos of butterflies can be very frustrating and does require some patience. Many times they flitter away just when I get ready to click, or there is a branch or something in the way, or I just don't get it focused right . . . but when a shot comes out right . . . it is really awesome to see! I feel like Christmas morning when I load pictures up from my camera to computer to see what gifts are there . . . sometimes there isn't much to be excited about. . . . but other times it is wonderful to capture and share a piece of beauty I have seen in my garden!
This is commonly called a Zebra Swallowtail . . .Eurytides marcellus (Cramer, 1777)
Family: Papilionidae
Subfamily: Papilioninae
Identification of this butterfly is by the appearance on the upper surface of wings with black stripes on pale whitish-green background and the hindwings having very long tails. The ones you may see in early spring form are smaller and lighter colored.
Their wing span is 2 1/2 - 4 inches (6.4 - 10.4 cm).
Adult males fly in the understory near host plants to find females. Females lay single green eggs on lower leaves of host plant. Caterpillars live and feed on the underside of these leaves, then pupate and hibernate there.
Caterpillars eat shrubs of the genus Asimina (pawpaw) in the Annonaceae family. Young plants are preferred.
Adult Zebra Swallowtails get moisture from sand and nectar from flowers including blueberry, blackberry, lilac, redbud, viper's bugloss, verbena, dogbane, and common milkweed. (You can see Verbena in this image.)
These butterflies breed in moist low woodlands near swamps and rivers. Adults fly to nectar plants in open fields and brushy areas.
**The FINE ART AMERICA watermark will not appear on any purchased items. All images are protected by copyright law.**
Uploaded
July 17th, 2016
Statistics
Viewed 454 Times - Last Visitor from Cambridge, MA on 04/23/2024 at 11:43 PM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet