Subject: Black and transparent butterfly
Location: Tulum, Mexico
July 17, 2013 2:49 pm
Hello! While in tulum, Mexico in July of 2013, I saw this butterfly. It was transparent with black markings and very long sword like tails on its wings. There were no other colors present on the wings, only black. The wing shape was elongated. I managed to snap a picture of it and am hoping you can help me identify it. Thank you!
Signature: Olivia
Dear Olivia,
This gorgeous butterfly is a Mexican Kite Swallowtail, Eurytides epidaus, and you can see additional images of it on iNaturalist and Butterflies of America. Sadly, the instagram filter you used has obscured much of the natural beauty of this lovely butterfly. Instagram images are not ideal for capturing specimens for identification because of the distortion that some people find artistic.
Thanks for the info, I appreciate it. I chose to use the filter because the picture was very overexposed straight out of camera and the filter helped to show the contrast of the black and clear wings better, as it was very difficult to see in the original also because of the asphalt in the background that the butterfly was standing on. The filter to me made it look more the way I saw it in real life. My mom was wondering what kind if butterfly it was so I’ll be happy to be able to tell her.
Thanks for responding so quickly!
Olivia