Phil Torres Instagram – I’ve spent the last several days in the Appalachians of Kentucky— truly stunning forest here with an abundance of wildlife surrounding this old coal mining town my team is based out of for the week. Every morning I have been going for trail runs looking for wildlife, and especially hoping to track down a particular behavior in butterflies common in this area (yes, I have started running with my camera!)
Just when I finished my run yesterday I saw a burst of yellow butterflies down the trail and I knew I found it.
These are Easter Tiger Swallowtail butterflies exhibiting a behavior known as mud puddling, where male butterflies drink minerals from mud (or scat or dead animals) to create a mating nuptial gift for the female. In the tropics I’m used to seeing this on river edges with a variety of species, but in the US you don’t see it as often so I was thrilled to find it here, and in such vast numbers. Video of the encounter coming soon! | Posted on 23/May/2024 20:27:27
