Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: DAILY BUTTERFLIES Page 29, 1 by angele

angele wrote:
I started clicking on the list and then jumped to Swallowtails because I remembered this butterfly & I was disappointed because I thought no one will believe me because there aren't any swwallowtails this big then I remembered I lived in another county at the time!My most magical butterfly moment is from August 2004: Otero County New Mexico. Giant Swallowtail is on the list for there. Do you think it is one?
This was one of the first photos I took with a digital camera. I planted some very old sunflower seeds on a whim and one plant grew. I couldn't believe it when I saw the size of this creature! I never knew butterflies grew so big! To get an idea the stake for the sunflower is 2 inches wide and the siding on my old home was 12 inches between the vertical lines. I measured the sunflower and if I remember right it was almost 11 inches wide I figured the butterfly was around 8 inches or more. One of my favorite things is how the butterfly wing lines up with the flower petals. Man what a magical moment!!!