Zebra swallowtail in the grass

Unmistakable once you’ve seen one — the long, thin tails and black-and-white zebra stripes make this one of the easier swallowtails to identify at a glance, and that streak of red near the wing base is the finishing touch. This one stayed low in the grass, wings held open to soak up the April sun.

Why it matters

Zebra swallowtail caterpillars feed exclusively on pawpaw trees, so the butterfly’s range tracks pawpaw’s range almost exactly — a healthy pawpaw understory along a river corridor like this one is effectively a guarantee of zebra swallowtails come spring.

Getting the shot

Got down to the butterfly’s own level in the grass rather than shooting down at it, which kept the wings from foreshortening and lost the stripe pattern. It stayed remarkably still, likely still warming up in the morning sun.