The above photo features what we think is a female eastern black swallowtail butterfly on some bee balm. Black swallowtails are dimorphic. The males have yellow bands on their backs and females vivid blue and lighter spots. Black swallowtails are fairly common in North Carolina. However, we haven’t seen many butterflies this year. If the Internet is accurate, there has been a 22% drop in the butterfly population since early 2000. We have noticed this trend in our own yard, in spite of planting more flowering plants. Swallowtails like parsley, Queen Anne’s lace, and dill and in the chrysalis stage will winter over on these plants. Fall and winter is a great time to let plants go dormant and leave them in place. If you can do this without causing too much of a ruckus in your neighborhood, it would be a good thing. A few untamed corners in our yards will yield great benefits in the spring in summer. Just do it! If you want to learn more about butterflies, the NC State Extension had a great website HERE.

Happy Thursday!