Butterflies seem particularly abundant this year. The two most common butterflies in South Carolina are the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and the Spicebush Swallowtail. The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is dressed in yellow with a black petticoat and accents of blue and red. The Spicebush Swallowtail is mostly black with white and light blue markings. The undersides of its wings have orange-red and blue dots. The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is the official state butterfly of North Carolina and Georgia.
How can you tell the difference between butterflies and moths? The antennae of butterflies are skinny stems with a bulb on the end, like elongated mariachis. Moths’ antennae look like feathers. Generally, you are more likely to see butterflies in the daytime and moths at night, but artificial light can disturb normal travel times. Moths have duller colors than their butterfly cousins.
Butterflies rest with their wings erect over their backs, while moths rest with their wings open flat. If you’ve ever seen a pale green Luna moth resting flat against a tree, this is an easy trait to remember. Finally, butterflies have thin bodies while moths are stockier.
Like other insects, butterflies have three body parts and six legs. Their “mouth” (proboscis) is almost like a flexible drinking straw that curls up when not in use. We think of butterflies as going to flowers to sip nectar, but some visit rotting fruit or even rotting animal flesh or other animal fluids. They have a complete metamorphosis, going from egg to caterpillar (larva) to chrysalis (pupa) to adult. The average adult life span is two to four weeks, but certain large butterflies, like the regal orange and black Monarch, may live up to nine months.
Favorite plants for butterflies: Asclepia (butterfly weed), Buddleia (butterfly bush), Verbena, Lantana, Echinacea (coneflower), Eupatorium (Joe Pye weed), Tithonia (Mexican sunflower) and Zinnia.
Butterflies and moths are fascinating. To learn more, consult one of my two favorite books on the subject:
Butterflies of North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, or Butterflies of the Carolinas – A field guide by Janet Daniels.
Trivia #1: I encounter a common question about the identity of a moth that observers think is a form of hummingbird. Sphinx moths are quite large (wingspan up to five inches) and visit flowers around dusk. The fat hornworm that munches holes in your tomato plant and fruit is a variety of Sphinx moth. In the movie Silence of The Lambs (1991), starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins as a terrifying Hannibal Lecter, a sphinx moth pupa leads to detection of the bad guy. Eww.
Trivia #2: I had to consult a garden guide to learn what a “spicebush” looked like. It is a largish shrub that grows in woodlands, in partial shade, and has oval red fruits that resemble holly berries with long stems.
This Spicebush Swallowtail visited my work boot to gather moisture or salt. You can see the topside wing colors of black and blue as well as the underside, with orange-red dots. His wings are a bit tattered, a sign that his life is nearing an end.
This photo shows the underside of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, enjoying a drink from a Cosmos bloom.