#pale swallowtail

[mylifeinpixels]

Pale Swallowtail 💗

[aydenburd-photography]

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Ramona Grasslands, CA — March 2026

Did you know that scorpions are fluorescent? It's true! We went on a night hike and were using a UV flashlight to hopefully find some cool desert creatures, and we did not find any regular scorpions, but we did run across this very silly little wind scorpion/camel spider instead. Look at those goofy little eyes. What a strange beafst.

[suffraebb]

[onenicebugperday]

@polymoth​ submitted: Forgot to submit these last time--check out the super pale coloration on this swallowtail! There were a ton of swallowtails at this park, the one on the right is a different one with more typical coloration.

Swallowtails seem to be particularly abundant this year all over the place! Love to see it. I’d be willing to wager the first one is a pale swallowtail, Papilio eurymedon, and the second is a western tiger, Papilio rutulus!

[pnwnativeplants]

Closeups of Holodiscus discolor or oceanspray, a deciduous shrub that grows to be about 15ft in height. Holodiscus discolor is not picky about conditions, growing in full sun or full shade, as well as dry and rather moist sites. It’s a beautiful shrub that is easy to grow, and has recently seen a resurgence in use by cities and states for plantings along freeways, since it’s one of few native shrubs tenacious enough for the harsh conditions found there. Unlike the invasives historically used along freeways (like the infamous scotchbroom) Holodiscus discolor provides ample ecological benefits for pollinators. It’s a host plant for lorquin's admiral (Limenitis lorquini), Pale swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon), spring azure (Celastrina ladon) as well as many others!

[wandering-in-the-mist]

Some wonderfully unique garden friends from the last couple of days ^*^

[jadafitch]

Pale Swallowtail

[wandering-in-the-mist]