Photos: Giant Swallowtail and Reblooming Lilacs

Spotting a large butterfly amongst the tall lavender phlox, I trotted outside to take pictures of it -- and found it to be a Giant Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio cresphontes)! 

And then I also discovered that, of all things, the lilacs are in bloom again!  Sixteen years ago, a friend gave us a couple of bushes, telling us that they were the ‘reblooming’ type.   I’d never heard of such a thing, and after 15 years of no ‘reblooming’, I first decided he was nuts, and next forgot all about it.  But... lookie here, honest-to-goodness reblooms.  Mah woid. 

I’ve never gotten pictures of the Giant Swallowtail before; it’s generally either the Black or the Tiger Swallowtails that we see around here. Swallowtails are the birdwing butterflies, largest in the world.   The female Giant Swallowtail has a wingspan of up to 18.8 cm – that’s almost 7.5”!  By comparison, the Black Swallowtail’s wingspan is only about 8.4 cm (3.3”), while the Yellow Tiger Swallowtail can be about 14 cm (5.5”).  Did you know there are over 550 species of swallowtails in the world? 

Too bad I didn’t see the Giant Swallowtail earlier in the year; its poor wings are pretty beat up by now. 

Oh... haha... I just discovered that certain reblooming lilac hybrids are called ‘Bloomerangs.’  Imagine throwing that into polite conversation, with no introductory prelude:  “By the way, I have Bloomerangs!”  😂