Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor

A wonderful butterfly. This is the male with a double circlet of half moons on the upper hindwing. The female has a rich glowing blue on the uppersides. Pipes almost always flutter when they nectar. And at a higher frequency than the similar Spicebush Swallowtail. Can be separated from that species by the nice loop of orange spots on the exterior hindwing. The Spicey has a jagged orange line of spots. Less common puddlers than the Spicebush. Only other butterfly in the east that is easily confused is the black form of the Eastern Tiger. It is much larger. And does not often flutter at the nectar flowers. It has the tiger stripes visible in strong light.

Note the sneaky solitary wasp hiding beneath the abdomen of this Pipe. Could be a Bembix. Hard to say. Wasps like to mud too.

The sustained flapping at high speed while nectaring often is a clue to the species at distant range. The late summer thistle blooms will bring virtually anything but the Swallowtails are true suckers for them. This shows the rich interior blue of the female mimicked by several other species.

The egg. And I believe this is on Pipevine.