Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Joe Pye weed
Papilio glaucus
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail · Brooklyn Botanic Garden · 12 July 2026
An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail with the wings held fully open and flat to the sun on Joe Pye weed, in the July border at the Botanic Garden. The pose is as much about regulating body temperature as display, since a butterfly's flight muscles need to be warm to work.
The blue crescents and orange spots along the trailing edge of the hindwing are more pronounced here than on a typical male, again pointing to a female. The tails are decoys, and a bird that strikes at them leaves with a scrap of wing and no butterfly.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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