This past weekend while I was grilling burgers, I noticed something in the side-yard flower gardens. Upon closer inspection, it was a very large butterfly. I grabbed the camera and got Jodi to bring the kids out to see it. We didn't mess with it, just tried to get some photos and enjoy its presence.
Upon doing a little research after the fact, I believe this is known as the 'Giant Swallowtail' (papilio cresphontes). I found some other similar matches, but they didn't appear to be normally in my area, and this one is the best match and is known to be local, so I am guessing it is right. Unfortunately, the butterfly never stopped flitting about long enough for me to get a really good wing picture, but I got enough different angles to identify most of the wing bars and colorations. It really was a beautiful little creature... The first two photos show the top/back of the wings and the last three highlight the underside. It is pretty amazing how different the two sides appear...
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