Over the past few weeks, I have occasionally observed black (female) Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies (Pterourus glaucus) winging their way along or across Piney Woods Church Road. Invariably, they seemed bound for somewhere else, across a field or into the woods. They steadfastly refused to pause long enough to be photographed. Now, at last, Hoary Mountainmint (Pycnanthemum incanum) is in bloom, attracting varied pollinators, including solitary wasps (mentioned in an earlier post) and butterflies. The males, and some females, are bright yellow and black. But some females are a black and blue color variant, instead — like the ones I photographed earlier this afternoon. (I saw two or three different ones, and did not bother to record which one I was photographing at a particular moment). Considering all the butterflies my backyard butterfly bush has attracted, I have seen precious few along Piney Woods Church Road, probably mostly due to the absence of flowers to pollinate. For all that the Mountain Mint is rather nondescript (apart from the upper sides of its topmost leaves, which look they have been spray-painted with white), its blossoms have brought new presences to my daily pilgrimage, and I am most grateful.
