Michigan is one of the only states in the country without an official state insect, but that could soon change. The black swallowtail butterfly, scientifically known as the papilio polyxenes, would be ...

The black swallowtail is the State Butterfly of Oklahoma. It’s a beautiful butterfly with a striking caterpillar. It is found throughout the state and is common in our flower and vegetable gardens ...

LANSING, MI - Michigan Garden Clubs President Carol Brodbeck believes Michigan should recognize the value of butterflies by naming the black swallowtail as its official state butterfly. Naming a state ...

There was an absolutely wonderful change in the weather two weeks ago. Gone were the days of oppressive humidity and scorching temperatures. In their place came days with highs near 80 F, lower ...

The beautiful male emerged in October, eager to mate but destined for disappointment because he emerged too late in the season, just an example of natural selection at work I received an invitation to ...

I received an invitation to photograph a black swallowtail butterfly that had just emerged. It would linger only a short while before emerging, so I hurried over. The date was Oct. 13. The black ...

The female spicebush swallowtail butterfly was fluttering down, landing for a moment or two on a leaf on my sassafras tree and moving on to do the same thing on other leaves over and over again. It ...

Black swallowtail caterpillars eat plants like fennel, parsley and dill, absorbing toxins for protection from predators. When threatened, the caterpillar uses a forked tongue-like gland called ...

If the caterpillar of a black swallowtail butterfly shows you its “horns,” it’s just a defensive response, and a rather stinky one at that. A photograph of the colorful green, black and yellow ...

Last week I had a picture of a dark form of the eastern tiger swallowtail with my column. The obvious question about any species with more than one color form is: What is the advantage? The advantage ...

I was excited to have Monarch caterpillars, even though they were chomping away on my fennel, but then this gorgeous number emerged from the chrysalis! Seems to be a black swallowtail. I’m a little ...

During the summer, I love to sit out on the patio and watch butterflies in my garden. All day long, especially on these hot summer days, they bring color and movement to my garden from the smallest ...