Among the most striking and recognizable butterflies of Northwest Washington are the swallowtails, a family of large-winged insects with distinctive tiger-stripe markings and a namesake “tail” that ...

Last week I had a picture of a dark form of the eastern tiger swallowtail with my column. The obvious question about any species with more than one color form is: What is the advantage? The advantage ...

It was a pale swallowtail. Butterfly books generally describe the upper surface of the wings as black and creamy white. This one, however, was black and white, the same as in many other photographs.

About 170 butterfly species occur in North Carolina as permanent residents, regular visitors, or rare strays. Some of these are restricted to either the coastal or mountain regions. I'd estimate that ...

A spectacular new butterfly species has been discovered on the Pacific Island of Vanua Levu in Fiji. The species, named last week as Papilio natewa after the Natewa Peninsula where it was found, is a ...

The Appalachian tiger swallowtail butterfly is a rare breed: Some 100,000 years ago, two different species mated and their hybrid offspring gave rise to the Appalachian species, researchers have found ...

While perusing the Pacific Island of Vanua Levu in Fiji last year, researchers happened upon a precellular butterfly that captivated their attention. Given the mysteriousness surrounding its identity, ...

Every butterfly gardener delights when showy swallowtail butterflies make an appearance. These butterflies are some of the largest in the garden, and their colorful wings and soaring flight patterns ...

The first time I saw a giant swallowtail butterfly years ago, I just happened to walk out to get the mail and saw it nectaring on lantana in my flower bed by the road. What a surprise! This huge pale ...

On a wooded hillside along the banks of the Allegheny River, Gabrielle Marsden brushed up against an oblong leaf: Asimina triloba. The American pawpaw.The deciduous tree bears North America’s largest ...