Swallowtail butterfly on flowers in a field in Vernon.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Kristine Jensen
May 24, 2023 - 7:30 AM
Kristine Jensen spent an afternoon watching and photographing swallowtail butterflies in the Vernon area this past weekend, despite intermittent periods of rain.
The Vernon resident and nature lover was captivated by swallowtail butterflies in a field beside her house and followed one around.
“The little guy (butterfly) was passionate about staying dry, it was comical how it'd fly out to test if it was still raining," she said. "It flitted out and then went right back to bury itself in the blossoms. I saw a lot of butterflies flying about this weekend.”
There are hundreds of species of swallowtail butterflies around the world, with the exception of Antarctica, and they are known for their brightly coloured wings and tails on their hindwings. There are eight species and six are yellow with black stripes, according to E-Fauna BC, which can make identifying them difficult.
Swallowtail butterflies on blossoms in Kamloops.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Lyn MacDonald
“When it comes to butterflies the taxonomy can be difficult and sometimes it’s about counting eye spots and stripes,” Lake Country's The Bug Guys Pets and Exotics owner Stuart Brown said.
Swallowtails have been out for weeks feeding, pollinating and looking for mates, he said. The Canadian and western tiger swallowtails came out early this year because of the early heat wave.
Jensen believes she was observing a western tiger swallowtail.
Western tiger swallowtails are large and yellow with black stripes running front to back across the wings, and blue and orange spots on the hindwings. They are in flight from late May to July and until August at middle elevations and lay single eggs on the upper sides of the leaves of food plants like alder, birch, bitter cherry and poplar. They are found in or near riparian habitats and are common in residential areas where preferred food plants are planted in cities and gardens.
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Swallowtail butterfly on gravel in Eagle Bay.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Michelle Theoret
Other similarly coloured swallowtails in BC are Canadian swallowtails, Canadian tiger swallowtails, two-tailed, Baird's and Anise.
Go here for a list of BC butterflies.
Swallowtail butterfly on lilac blossoms in Chase.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Wendy Pickell
Swallowtail butterfly, Kamloops.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Lyn MacDonald
Swallowtail butterfly, Merritt.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Diana Grimshire
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