Black Swallowtail Butterfly Pink Echinacea Flowers Magnet

A cheerful colorful wildlife photo of a beautiful female black swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes) drinking nectar from pink echinacea flowers (Echinacea purpurea). Personalize this design with a name or brief words of wisdom. The big bright flowers pink / purple flowers are native to North America and also called purple coneflower, eastern coneflower and hedgehog coneflower. Butterflies are attracted to certain flowering plants by sight and also have taste buds on their feet to help identify a food source. Male and female black swallowtail butterflies have basically the same patterns and colors on the outside wings. Black swallowtail butterfly wing colors are shades of yellow, orange, blue, and black and white. On the inner wings, the female has a paler yellow pattern with more blue on the lower wings, and the male has brighter yellow markings and less blue. They both have orange, black and white "eyes" on lower inside wings. The wingspan of the black swallowtail is 7 - 8.5 cm, with females typically bigger than males. This is a New World butterfly ranging from southern Canada down through the US, Mexico, Central America to South America. This pretty lady is at about the northernmost part of her range. In spirituality, butterflies can often be spirit guides or totem animals, representing society, beauty, the arts, travel or journeying, happiness and optimism, dreams, daydreams and romance. In some cultures butterflies are considered to be wandering souls. It is unlucky to harm one. Butterflies are found all over the world except of course Antarctica, and figure prominently in myth and religion from ancient cultures to the present day. Beautiful butterfly photos by M Sylvia Chaume, Quebec, Canada.