Would you believe? An animal exists in the Southern Appalachians that begins its life precisely resembling a moist bird dropping; then after a few weeks transforms itself into a tiny green snake with big yellow eyes; and finally completes its life as a flying tiger. Would you believe?

The magical animal described above is the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, Papilio glaucus. Perhaps you have seen the large yellow and black striped adult males of this species as they visit gardens or roadside flowers in search of nectar. Not very ferocious as tigers go. Perhaps you have seen one of these gentle flying tigers performing a swirling, mid-air tango with an equally large, but midnight black, companion. These dusky tigers (black panthers, perhaps?) are the females.

Why are female tiger swallowtails colored differently than the males? Perhaps because the midnight black adults of the Pipevine Swallowtail are poisonous to birds (because they feed as caterpillars on the poisonous Dutchman’s Pipe vine.) Perhaps birds avoid all black butterflies because they can’t tell them apart. Perhaps that is why harmless Spicebush Swallowtails are also black. All this is part of the magic of the butterfly world.

Female Tiger Swallowtails lay their eggs on the leaves of Black Cherry, Ash, Birch or Tulip Trees, and the hatchling caterpillars gain some degree of protection from predators by resembling fresh bird droppings. After all, what self-respecting bird would attempt to dine on such an object? As they grow larger, the caterpillars molt into miniature bright green “snakes”, complete with staring yellow eyespots on the tops of their heads. These tiny fake serpents even have a bright orange forked gland behind their heads which they flick in and out like a snake’s tongue. More magic.

Early emerging Tiger Swallowtail males were felled by spring’s April freeze, but nature always hedges her bets and later emerging females have been greeted by less precocious males. Since each female can lay several hundred eggs, the Appalachian airways should be filled again with flying tigers by the end of summer. The secret of life is written on the wings of a butterfly.

Painted Ladies, Summer Azures, Red Admirals, Wood Satyrs, Silver-spotted Skippers. These are just a few of the more than one hundred species of butterflies which may be observed in the sunny meadows and shady woodlands of Western North Carolina. Many of them will be on display right here at the Nature Center’s Beauty of Butterflies exhibit during July and August each year. Each has its own unique story. Come on down and experience the magic!