I had another lovely butterfly stop by the other day. This time it was a Swallowtail, of the Spicebush variety.

There are several different kinds of Swallowtails that can be found in this area, and I am not always that great at knowing for sure which one I am admiring, but when it comes to the Spicebush, there’s an easy way to make the id – just look for the spot that is not!

In both the picture above and the picture below, if you look at the row of orange spots closest to the body and you start at the bottom and count upward, the third spot is not orange like the others but is a smudge of blue. Now, I usually have to wait until I’ve downloaded the pictures to be certain since they are not prone to sitting still and letting me examine their wings, but it does satisfy my curiosity to be able to say, “Yep. That’s a Spicebush alrighty.”

This beauty flitted from blossom to blossom before flying off.

I hope we have some Tiger Swallowtails visit this year, and some Zebra Longwings, and some…well, I’ll just be happy with whatever makes an appearance!