Hold that tiger!
When a Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus, glides into your yard, it's the next best thing to a monarch.
This one took a liking to the Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, guareded by male long-horned bees. Very territorial.
UC Davis Distinguished Professor Emeritus Art Shapiro, who has monitored the butterfly populations of northern and central California since 1972 and maintains a research website, says of it: "The Western Tiger Swallowtail is basically a species of riparian forest, where it glides majestically back and forth along the watercourse. It has expanded into older urban neighborhoods where several of its host genera are grown as shade trees, and behaves as if the street were a watercourse. In the high country and on the Sierran east slope its usual host is Aspen."
This tiger was missing one of its tails, but no matter. It is a joy to see.
