What an interesting place, Larry! My field guide shows pictures of the indra swallowtails, including the one you mentioned, noting that it occurs on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. In the picture, the butterfly looks like a female black swallowtail, what with the blue at the bottom -
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I'd LOVE to see the pine whites/Neophasia menapia! They look beautiful in the picture in my field guide, and since I don't even get cabbage whites here, I'm taken with white butterflies.
When I took the teen bus tour to places out West in 1963, we went to the Grand Canyon. I can't remember which rim we visited, but we stayed in rough cabins. My grandmother had hoped we'd stay at the Bright Angel Lodge, because that's where she stayed on a trip there in the 1930's or 1940's - that hotel probably isn't even there any more. The Grand Canyon is one jaw-dropping place - its views give you the ultimate in wide open spaces, down right dizzying!
Sherry

Sherry

Picture below is of a female P. i. kaibabensis. It's easy to notice the differences in it from the other two similar big black swallowtails found in North America (P. polyxenes & P. bairdii). On kaibabensis there is a much larger area of submarginal blue scaling and it doesn't have the yellow "dots" on the abdomen that the others do.

Interestingly this bug in the Grand Canyon is also the one that lead to the only serious pursuit and prosecution of butterfly poachers in this country. I knew all three men charged, and unfortunately they all got off way too easy. Anyway, I have the whole story saved as doc files if anybody wants to read them (just drop me an email).

You must live in one of the few places in the world (outside of Antarctica) that doesn't have Pieris rapae Sherry. LOL If you think you'd like Neophasia menapia, you'd go bonkers over N. terlooii or better yet any species from my favorite lep family worldwide... the Parnassinae.

Larry

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The area really is worth a visit if you're passing by. Here's some pics of the area for an idea...

The road to North Rim wanders through what we call a parkway here in the west as it meanders through the pine forest.
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Jacobs Lake Inn. Gas, food store & souvenir shop, great resturant, lodge, cabins, etc.
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Jacobs Lake Campgrounds - several loops in meadows or in the pines.
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Jacobs Lake itself (yes, it's very small). The Kaibab Plateau is known as the "waterless mountian" as it has no springs, streams or normal lakes. What's there is small sinkholes that catch and hold snow melt and rain water... the only water on the plateau for man or beast.
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Nice scenery.
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What you'll find at the end of those dirt roads.
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What stunning scenery, Larry - I love the woodsy, rustic look of everything there!
The butterfly in your picture does indeed look different from our eastern black swallowtail - the picture in my field guide isn't as detailed as yours.
These pictures are making me dream of vacations!
Sherry
P.S.
Actually, I've gotten two visits from cabbage whites, but they were such an oddity I followed them around just looking at them for a long time.

I had two Cabbage Whites in my garden this morning, Sherry. Ovipositing in the nasturtiums and nectaring on the french lavender. That's the only Lep's I've seen this year.

Larry, your last picture is breathtaking. Love the picture of the shack as well. The P. i. kaibabensi is stunning - perfect shot.

To set the record straight, only the first picture is mine, a scan of an old slide (hence the poor quality of the picture) taken with one of my SLR's; the kaibabensis was taken by Dr. Wayne Whaley who I was in the ULS with in the 80's & 90's, so I know he won't mind my using it here; last ones are public domain pics garnered off the web someplace. Posting pics here can sure be a PITA.

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Another lost soul that joined the site for the sole purpose of spamming it. Get a life!