giant swallowtail

There were loads of Swallowtails on my trip - big beautiful butterflies all of them - and finally just two days before the trip ended the presumably biggest of them all: Giant Swallowtail. It took some persistence, following this big guy (or gal) around the ... honeysuckle? ... before I got one...

Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes: Papilionidae) Wingspan 10.2-15.2 cm (4.0-6.0) in. Nectaring Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica: Asclepiadaceae). My front flower bed at home, Bryan, Brazos County, Texas, USA. Ca. 91 m (300 ft) elevation.

Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes: Papilionidae) Wingspan 10.2-15.2 cm (4.0-6.0 In). Nectaring an attractive shrub Duranta erecta: Verbenaceae. Garden at Brazos Valley Arboretum, Bryan, Brazos County, Texas, USA. Planted garden in surrounding arboretum.

Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes: Papilionidae) Wingspan 10.2-15.2 cm (4.0-6.0 In). Cultivated grounds at Victoria Community Center, Victoria, Victoria County, Texas, USA. Urban setting in the Gulf Prairies and Marshes Vegetational Area at ca. 29 m (95 ft) elevation.

Though common it was my first sighting. At least that I'm aware of.

Giant Swallowtail ? found resting in the sun on our hike at Kelley's Island on Lake Erie.

Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes:Papilionidae) This species has a 10.2-15.2 cm (4-6 in) wingspan. The ventral wing surface has a base color of yellow while the dorsal wing surface has a base color of black. You have to love this beauty! Photographed on a Zinnia in Passalong Garden...

Caught this giant swallowtail butter fly on a field thistle

I was on my back patio this afternoon filling up my backyard bird feeder when this lovely creature sailed by me and landed on my potted rosebush. A very large butterfly!

Beautiful Giant Swallowtail on Phlox

North Florida is abloom, atwitter, abuzz & aflutter. This lovely creature was sipping nectar from plum tree blossoms in my backyard.