Swallowtail butterflies 'puddling' (Papilio glaucus / Papilio troilus / Papilio polyxenes)

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Photo by KarenL

Published on Project Noah

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35.7025, -87.2189

Field Notes

Description:

Male Eastern, Black & Spicebush swallowtails 'puddling' in moist soil at the edge of Williamsport lake.
By sipping moisture from mud puddles, butterflies take in salts and minerals from the soil. This behavior is called puddling, and is mostly seen in male butterflies. That's because males incorporate those extra salts and minerals into their sperm.

Notes:

There were at least 30 swallowtails in this one spot.

Reference Links:

Mud-puddling

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (14)

KarenL

William, yes this is a major civil war area round here & there are lots of battlefields - there are also some really nice state parks & reserves. I've been out with the local birding group a couple of times though I have to admit I didn't manage to spot much & just ended up with a very stiff neck - I guess it's knack & I need more practice!

Darwin26

some nice country to be catching butterflies in your camera. Very Sweet indeed. i visited the Civil War Nat'l Park in Franklin a few years back and for sure there's some great birding and butterflying in Civil War Parks...it's great they had all those battles in parks - makes it so much easier on groomed grounds.

JulieGoodbloodClark

OHHHH my!!!!!!:-))))

KarenL

Thanks Guys!

PeterChereshnoski

excellent spotting and information on puddling....thankyou!

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Wonderful photos!

Raiyan Ahmed

Beauty!!

KarenL

Thanks Guys! I guess it goes to prove that in nature nothing goes to waste!

DanielePralong

Great spotting KarenL! I've seen similar "congregations" of old world swallowtails and other butterflies extracting minerals from dung... http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/6520439

MickGrant

Good job Karen, In Asia have seen them "puddling" near a male latrine.

Thanks pyoung!

Very good spotting!

Thanks annorion!

Interesting spotting!