I thought to end the year on a positive note, as strange as that may be given the wretched state of the world. Nevertheless, to end on a note of beauty that is or should be common to all of us brings a certain contentment. And that is the beauty of butterflies, whose colors are so often magnificent.
The first butterfly is the eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) that I photographed while out walking.
In the photo above, the wings are translucent from the sunlight behind.
The second photo of the tiger swallowtail presents its actual colors.
The tiger swallowtail is on a clover flower.
Next, there is a variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudio) that I photographed in my backyard.
The second photo demonstrates the translucency of a butterfly’s wings.
How different the upper wing view of the variegated fritillary from the underwing view.
The fritillary is enjoying nectar from butterfly bush blossoms.
My next backyard butterfly is a spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus).
It’s marvelous how butterfly bush blossoms attract butterflies.
Another backyard butterfly is a red-spotted purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax).
The red-spotted purple is a swallowtail mimic, inasmuch as swallowtails are not considered good eating.
Back to swallowtails, and here is an occasional visitor to my backyard, a giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes).
The giant swallowtail is probably the largest butterfly of the eastern United States.
The giant swallowtail had some wing damage but was able to fly without difficulty.
Last comes a moment of happiness: The release of a monarch (Danaus plexippus) on its way, ideally, to winter in Mexico.
Sue and I oversaw the raising of seven monarch caterpillars that became adult butterflies and then released them to fly south.
