Western tiger swallowtail

Description:

A large butterfly in the genus Papilio. Wingspans up to 10 cm (3 to 4 in). Black and yellow striping with blue and red spots near its tail.

Habitat:

Spotted nectaring on blackberry blossoms in my backyard.

Notes:

The normal range of the western tiger swallowtail covers much of western North America, from British Columbia to North Dakota in the north to Baja California and New Mexico in the south. Individuals occasionally turn up east of this range; in eastern North America, though, it is replaced by the similar eastern tiger swallowtail, Papilio glaucus. Like the other tiger swallowtails, the western tiger swallowtail was formerly classified in genus Pterourus, but modern classifications all agree in placing them within Papilio.(Wikipedia)