Eastern tiger swallowtail
A male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail nectaring on wild bergamot blossoms at Morris Reserve near Bellbrook.
This is another male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, photographed at Cox Arboretum. He is nectaring on bottlebrush buckeye.
Another Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, also enjoying teasel nectar.
This is a dark form female, nectaring on bottlebrush buckeye. Dark-form females mimic the poisonous Pipevine Swallowtail.
This is the underside of a dark-form female. The faint pattern of "tiger stripes" is barely visible beneath a dusting of black scales.
Female Eastern Tigers have two forms, a light and a dark form. This is the light-form female on a cosmos flower. Light-form females are similar to males, except they have more blue at the bases of their wings.
A pair of Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, nectaring on common teasel flowers. Teasels are non-native, weedy plants, but they serve as good nectar sources for swallowtail butterflies. Photographed at the Caesar Creek prairie.
A dark-form female Tiger Swallowtail (same individual as above), nectaring on wild bergamot flowers at Cox Arboretum.
Last but not least, below is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, nectaring on thistles at Huffman Prairie. This image was much too beautiful to crop!
Eastern Tiger Swallowtails are common and widespread throughout our area. They can be found in a wide variety of habitats, including suburban parks and gardens. They fly from April through October
