I caught a rare close-up video glimpse of a beautiful but aging Canadian tiger swallowtail butterfly, which landed on Ann's potted geraniums and voraciously grazed for nectar (June 27, 2009).
The tiger, with a wingspan between three and four inches, then hopped to the pansies.
They are lighter yellow than their larger Southern California cousins, which I used to chase down the streets of San Diego as a kid.
This tiger's tails were nearly worn off, no doubt from many miles aflutter.
They are typically spotted on Olympic Discovery Trail between Siebert and Morse creeks and grow from eggs laid on willow leaves that grow into larger greenish caterpillars, then to the chrysalis state, then hatch as butterflies.
Some research on the Web turned up some interesting facts about this lovely creature:
• It is the state insect of Oregon, the state butterfly of Georgia (eastern swallowtail).
• The eastern species is the state insect of Virginia, Alabama, South Carolina and Delaware.
• The Western tiger swallowtail migrates south from Canada to Mexico, much like the monarch.
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