Swallowtail butterfly working California Thistle
Here is a gorgeous Swallowtail (Papilio) butterfly working our one new flower (so far) of California Thistle (Cirsium occidentale var. californicum, Asteraceae) in the woods today - but what kind of swallowtail is it? This one has cream colors, but it lacks the bright yellow wings of the Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) in this photo. I reckon this one is a Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon) butterfly like the ones in this photo on a different thistle that really are black and white, but the cream colors of this one are confusing. Is there some other mark besides color to tell them apart?? Yes, moving the caterpillar yesterday seems to have worked to save the flower, see this photo of the problem. (San Marcos Pass, 28 May 2020)
It was cooler today, but still up to near 80 degrees, quite pleasant. There was an annoying breeze from the south for much of the day that felt like "fog winds" without the fog. Tomorrow might be 10 degrees cooler again, and we might have some real marine-layer fog in the morning.
Swallowtail butterfly working California Thistle
Here is a gorgeous Swallowtail (Papilio) butterfly working our one new flower (so far) of California Thistle (Cirsium occidentale var. californicum, Asteraceae) in the woods today - but what kind of swallowtail is it? This one has cream colors, but it lacks the bright yellow wings of the Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) in this photo. I reckon this one is a Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon) butterfly like the ones in this photo on a different thistle that really are black and white, but the cream colors of this one are confusing. Is there some other mark besides color to tell them apart?? Yes, moving the caterpillar yesterday seems to have worked to save the flower, see this photo of the problem. (San Marcos Pass, 28 May 2020)
It was cooler today, but still up to near 80 degrees, quite pleasant. There was an annoying breeze from the south for much of the day that felt like "fog winds" without the fog. Tomorrow might be 10 degrees cooler again, and we might have some real marine-layer fog in the morning.