What is this blue and black butterfly?
Sun, Oct 26, 2008 at 12:23 PM
I live in Central FL (Orlando area) and saw a black and blue butterfly on one of my sunflowers. It had orange and white spots under his wings. I have looked on a TON of butterfly sites and cannot figure out what kind of butterfly it is. I’d love to know!
Kate
Orlando, FL
Hi Kate,
Your butterfly is a Pipevine Swallowtail, Battus philenor. Peter Glassberg, in his book Butterflies through Binoculars The West, writes: “As butterfly gardeners plant more pipevines, the range of this species will probably expand.”
