Tom,

When I tried to play the video it says "Video can't be played. File may be corrupt"

Rhonda

When I click on it the video plays, Rhonda. Maybe you need the software to play it. On my computer it opens in Windows Media player automatically.

Palamedes Swallowtail??

It's a palamedes swallowtail, Tom - great! That shows that there are some living redbays or swampbays somewhere near you, or maybe that one came from an egg laid on an alternate host, like maybe ?sassafras or other laurel. All the stumps on my dead redbays are sprouting like crazy - they may make small bushes.

I can tell the difference between male and female palamedes swallowtails, but I have to see them up close. The females have some blue circular areas on their lower hindwings, topside that the males lack.

My two palamedes chrysalides are still chrysalides - 'wish they'd emerge soon.

Sherry

Thanks, Sherry, I thought it was a palamedes, but the one thing that threw me off was the blue that I saw on the lower hindwings. I had never noticed them before; now I know that the females have this marking.

It was a huge female; possibly the largest one I have ever seen. I see them all the time when I walk in the nearby park, but not often on my property.

I had a large red bay that died off. I'm not sure what killed it. Now I have several small trees that have popped up in different parts of the yard. I have never seen a cat on any of my trees. I do see a lot of chewed leaves, however...

Good luck with your small bushes. I'm sure they are very attractive to the butterflies since all the growth is new.