I only saw one like this once. Any clue?
What about this one?
Swallowtail? Not sure which without wings spread out.
Larkie
It's most likely a Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes).
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/TX/701.htm
http://www3.pei.sympatico.ca/~david.fraser/rcresbut.htm
http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/citrus/giantswallowtail.htm
Lophophora, I think you are correct! Thank you. It has been a couple of years since I saw this one and have not seen one since.
You're welcome Badseed.
And you're luckier than me - I've never seen one in my life.
(Boy - would I love to!)
Thanx for the pic!
I guess I grabbed the camera because I had never seen one like it before either. The other day I missed a picture of an awesome moth that looked like a chunk of bark. He was pretty cool! I brushed him with a plant and away he went. :(
Badseed -
Some of my published sources say that P. cresphontes is only locally common in most parts of the states (East of Rockies except for the South, where it is common), so if you'd like to see more of his/her kin, then plant for consumption! :)
Food plants are (according to Peterson's Field Guide, Klots, 1951):
Various Citrus trees, Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum), Hop Tree (Ptelea), and Gas Plant (Dictanus).
I'd love to see a pic of that bark-mimic moth. Better luck next time!
Lopho, I have another!!! I posted two new views of this one. :)