An ailing butterfly
On the April 27th field trip to Bastrop State Park led by botanist Bill Carr I came across this ailing pipevine* swallowtail butterfly, Battus philenor, which fluttered about near the ground and didn’t seem able to fly away. That behavior, along with its faded and bedraggled appearance, probably meant that the insect was nearing the end of its life. Notice the swallowtail’s rolled-up proboscis.
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* You saw a pipevine flower in the last post. As Geyata Ajilvsgi notes in Wildflowers of Texas: “Although this plant is common, it is rarely found in flower, for usually larvae of the pipevine swallowtail butterfly… keep it eaten to the ground.”
© 2014 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
A very striking image.
mike585
June 15, 2014 at 6:53 AM
Usually we favor fresh, pristine specimens, but aged and faded ones have their appeal too.
Steve Schwartzman
June 15, 2014 at 6:56 AM
I like to think the same is true for humans, too….
shoreacres
June 15, 2014 at 7:57 AM
At our age, let’s hope so.
Steve Schwartzman
June 15, 2014 at 9:00 AM
Your response to Mike was exactly what my comment was going to be. Sometimes age and damage from hitting hard objects or the wind might work them over and sometimes a nip from a predator, but all part of the cycle of life….which for many a butterfly is rather short.
Steve Gingold
June 15, 2014 at 7:52 AM
You’ve reminded me of the Roman saying “Vita brevis, ars longa,” meaning “Life is short but art is long.” And if we’re getting philosophical: compared to the aeons that our planet has lasted and will continue to last, the lives of even the longest-lived individual creatures upon it are approximately zero.
Steve Schwartzman
June 15, 2014 at 8:03 AM
It’s all relative. Geologically our lives are brief. Assuming they can think about it, which most feel they can’t, a butterfly’s life is as long as he/she might expect.
Steve Gingold
June 15, 2014 at 8:17 AM
Ah yes, temporal relativity.
Steve Schwartzman
June 15, 2014 at 9:00 AM
Even if the wings weren’t so ragged, those translucent wings might be a clue that this one’s season in the sun is about over. Still, the colors are beautiful, and that curled-up proboscis made me smile. Remember the Cootie game from the 1950s? Whatever the inspiration for the Cooties, they certainly did get the proboscis right.
shoreacres
June 15, 2014 at 7:57 AM
Translucent reminds me (this seems to be my Latin morning) of “Sic transit gloria mundi,” “So passes away the glory of the earth.”
I can’t say I remember the Cootie game, but I do remember that the word cootie was popular among schoolchildren back then. I just looked it up and found it probably comes from the Malay word kutu.
Steve Schwartzman
June 15, 2014 at 8:27 AM
I remember Cootie. Bonus…you can still get Cooties…http://bit.ly/1hXF09e
Jim in IA
June 15, 2014 at 12:06 PM
Fortunately I don’t think anyone is yet selling chiggers. Unfortunately no one has to: they’ve been abundant lately.
Steve Schwartzman
June 15, 2014 at 2:49 PM
This ailing butterfly seems to be well matched with the colours of the pipevine flower. Both beautiful.
Gallivanta
June 15, 2014 at 9:06 AM
I’ll agree it was a fortunate pairing (even if consecutive rather than simultaneous).
Steve Schwartzman
June 15, 2014 at 9:13 AM
It is a stunning photo…I really love butterflies so I believe each lost diminishes our earth immeasurably.
Charlie@Seattle Trekker
June 15, 2014 at 12:54 PM
By coincidence I saw another ailing butterfly when I was out photographing a few hours ago. As far as I know, know of the butterfly species I’ve photographed over the years is endangered.
Steve Schwartzman
June 15, 2014 at 2:50 PM
Great capture. 😀
Raewyn's Photos
June 15, 2014 at 1:41 PM
Thanks, Raewyn. It’s not so hard when they hold still the way this one did.
Steve Schwartzman
June 15, 2014 at 2:52 PM
I found this photo deeply moving as I viewed the faded collours of the butterfly’s wings and its tightly curled proboscis. It seem to be hanging on for dear life to the twig that is supporting it. And like all things – we are just passing through.
Mary Mageau
June 16, 2014 at 5:09 AM
How right you are, Mary. That’s the truth we have to deal with: we are all just passing through.
Steve Schwartzman
June 16, 2014 at 7:41 AM
I was hoping you found a way to save it; but the inevitable can’t be changed…
morristownmemos by Ronnie Hammer
June 16, 2014 at 6:25 AM
No, there was nothing to be done, except in my case to photograph it.
Steve Schwartzman
June 16, 2014 at 7:41 AM
Ahhh, faded beauty. Dimmed but not yet vanquished!
kathryningrid
June 16, 2014 at 4:34 PM
And if we’re being philosophical, the same could be said for some of us, too.
Steve Schwartzman
June 16, 2014 at 5:36 PM
Here’s hoping!!! 😀
kathryningrid
June 17, 2014 at 12:34 AM
I suppose all things must die and butterflies have a brief life but it saddens me to see the end of such a beautiful creature.
Its wings remind me of a ballgown.
The World Is My Cuttlefish
June 26, 2014 at 7:02 PM
Now that’s an association I never would have made.
Steve Schwartzman
June 26, 2014 at 9:29 PM