Tiger Swallowtail

One of our biggest butterflies, the eastern tiger swallowtail, Papilio glaucus. Seen all over the East Coast and Midwest; this one was photographed yesterday in Hudson River Park. Note that the upper “swallowtail” is abbreviated, broken or bitten off. This may be a female, because of the extensive blue on the hindwing. Her tongue is deep within the blossom.Also seen yesterday in the gardens along the Hudson were cabbage whites (the omnipresent little white butterflies that circle each other as they rise up in mating flights), and three species of dragonfly: blue dasher, black saddlebags, and variegated meadowhawk. No damselflies there, but they are certainly out and about around the city now.