By Andrew L. Jaffee

While hiking in the foothills, I chanced upon a swallowtail butterfly, busily working like a bee. I must not seem threatening, because this sweetie allowed me to observe and photograph him for about an hour.

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A swallowtail butterfly I chanced upon while hiking in the mountains. Photo © 2008 netwmd.com, LLC. Click to purchase.

The swallowtail butterfly is truly a marvel of creation. Its colors — orange, yellow, blue, and black — combine to create a beauty which only nature can beget. The swallowtail’s disposition can only be described as gentle. And what aerial skills! I saw this sweetheart come gliding down the side of a small ridge and zero in on a large grouping of the most elegant shrubs, each sporting clumps of the whitest-white flowers.

These perfectly-shaped flowers must’ve had the goods my butterfly friend prefers. This winged wonder, a subtle riot of color and beatific shape, adeptly landed and started slurping sweet nectar with its enormous proboscus immediately. He gently fluttered from flower to flower, probing and slurping, probing and slurping…

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This sweetheart was busily slurping the nectar from a large aggregation of white, flowering bushes. Photo © 2008 netwmd.com, LLC. Click to purchase.

My friend must’ve noticed me following him around, snapping pictures as fast as I could. The little sweetheart barely missed a beat, as if basking in my transfixed attention. After about half an hour, I put the camera away and just watched this glamorous creature busily working amongst equally beautiful flowers.

The sun was shining, and the peace and quite of the setting made me pause to appreciate the gift of Earth and life — the gift given to me to bare witness to creation, the gift given to the glorious flora and fauna, and the gift of the soil, rocks, hills, and mountains. What a treat the universe gave me on that warm, autumn afternoon.

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Busy, busy, busy, drinking nectar. I watched this little one for almost an hour. Photo © 2008 netwmd.com, LLC. Click to purchase.

From Answers.com, a swallowtail is:

Any of more than 500 species (genus Papilio, family Papilionidae) of butterflies found worldwide except in the Arctic. Some have tail-like extensions of the hind wing. Colour patterns vary with species, sex, season, and sometimes location (see tiger swallowtail). Most adults have yellow, orange, red, green, or blue markings on an iridescent black, blue, or green background. …

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The underside of the swallowtail. You can see this honeypie’s legs, eyes, antennae, and abdomen. Photo © 2008 netwmd.com, LLC. Click to purchase.

After checking a couple of other sources, like Enchanted Learning, I am pretty confident in identifying my little flying friend as a male tiger swallowtail butterfly.

Please enjoy my pictures in this article, above and below. I hope I can share some peace and solitude with you no matter where you are, no matter who you are.

Photo enthusiasts: These pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 40D DSLR with EF28-135mm lense.

I love this little one’s fuzzy back — and look at those tails. Photo © 2008 netwmd.com, LLC. Click to purchase.

If you look closely, you can see this baby’s antennae, eyes, legs, and very long proboscus. Photo © 2008 netwmd.com, LLC. Click to purchase.

I wonder how that nectar tastes. If it’s anything like honeysuckle — wow. Photo © 2008 netwmd.com, LLC. Click to purchase.

What a wonder of creation. Photo © 2008 netwmd.com, LLC.

Look at that 5 inch wing-span. Photo © 2008 netwmd.com, LLC. Click to purchase.