Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly

A few weeks ago we loaded up the family and headed to one of several family reunions we have each summer in Ashe County, North Carolina. This particular reunion was in the park behind the Ashe County Public Library in West Jefferson. If memory serves me correctly this was the Hartsoe Reunion and in the shelter next to ours the Weavers-- more kin-folk-- were having their reunion as well. My ten year old niece, Laura Cheyenne, discovered these Pipevine Swallowtail Butterflies and borrowed my camera to take a few shots. I often see these butterflies in Ashe County, usually close to water. More recently I saw several along the banks of the New River (Southfork) at Elk Shoals.

Here's a whole gang of Battus philenor butterflies. One of the best online resources of North American butterflies and moths is hosted by Montana's Big Sky Institute-- a part of the state university system there.

Hey, what kind of butterfly is that? She just had to take my picture too.

Finally, here's a little search engine tip: You know how your digital camera always assigns numerical names to your photos? If you'll change those numerical names to words that describe your pictures then you'll get more referrals from search engines. Why is that? Because search engines can only read text and can't see if a picture is a blue butterfly or a yellow tiger.