It has taken over a month to finally find a more mellow, or maybe it's just distracted, Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly. They have not been nearly as excited about the Mock Orange this year as last so it has been harder to find them sitting still. It seems they are finding more satisfactory nectar from the thistle flowers.

The Western Tiger Swallowtail is the most abundant of all the Swallowtails in the Pacific Northwest. With a range from Canada to Mexico they can be found along the Rockies, Cascades, and Sierra mountain ranges. The Swallowtails nectar on:

• Blackberry blossoms
• Thistles
• Yarrow
• Balsamroot
• Alfalfa
• Columbine
• Phlox
• Lilac
• Mock Orange

The host plants for the butterfly's larva are generally broad leaved deciduous to include maples, willows, aspens, birch, and cottonwoods. Around our farm the Swallowtails generally appear from the creek area which contains the larger number of deciduous but during the day they are seen close to many of the pine and fir trees that fill the property.

Check out my blog @flemingfarm

For more information about our farm:
Fleming Family Farm
FLEMING FAMILY FARM, LLC
Sustainable & Organic Methods | Heirloom Produce

All images are original works of Fleming Family Farm unless otherwise notated and credited.

If you find this post useful or entertaining, your support is greatly appreciated by upvoting, resteeming, following, or setting us to autovote on SteemAuto!