Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

 The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Papiliio glaucus #4176, is another big butterfly, mostly yellow with black markings.  This is a male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail as there is very little blue in the hindwings.  The female would have more blue on the hind wing.  Occasionally you might come across an intermediate female that is dark, but  with some lighter dark scales where you can see the same pattern as the male.  Eastern Tiger Swallowtails usually visit a variety of flowers for nectar but can sometimes be found gathered together with other swallowtails at mud puddles or just wet soil.  These gatherings are called "puddle parties".  The host or larval plants include the leaves of shrubs and trees like Cottonwood, Tuliptree, Sweet bay, cherry and others.