Canadian tiger swallowtail butterfly

Rondeau Provincial Park, July 3, 2022.


The wire cage around the butterfly weed is necessary as the deer seem to think they are a treat. No cage, no blooms, no butterflies.
Papilio Canadensis
These butterflies are one of the more common species that are found mud puddling (drinking in minerals from damp ground). It is thought that only males lose sodium and need to replenish.
Osmeteria, found only in swallowtails, is a fleshy part that protrudes when disturbed and has a bad smell, likely a defence against ants and other predators. They drink with their proboscises—long, thin, coiled mouthparts common to butterflies and moths. It is coiled up between feedings.
source - Canadian Wildlife Federation.

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