Papilio polyxenes

This morning, I was able to capture shote of the Papilio polyxenes, otherwise known as the Black Swallowtail Butterfly using my Canon 80D camera. This butterfly is a commonly sighted butterfly throughout the United States and is actually the state butterfly for both New Jersey and for Oklahoma.

There are some interesting facts about this butterfly. For one, there are over 550 different varieties of the Swallowtail, but all of them have the two small tails, one on each wing, that is seen in these photos. The Giant Swallowtail is the largest butterfly.

Also an interesting story behind the name, "Papilio polyxenes". These butterflies are named after the Greek mythological character Polyxena. She is the character that betrayed Achilles, letting others know of his one weakness, his heel, thus he was shot with an arrow in his heel and died. While there are multiple stories on how she died, most agree that the common ending for her was dying by Achilles' grave to atone for betraying him.

Like most butterflies, they feed on specific nectars of flowers. Also, their life cycle, from egg to completion of pupal stage lasts from 32 - 57 days. Truly an interesting and beautiful creature.

One love,

@jgullinese