And on this summer day, lunchtime for a swallowtail butterfly came when it found a good, full buttonbush plant. I’ve published buttonbush photos here before, not just because I like their flowers that look like cake pops but because pollinators love them even more than I do.

I love everything about this — the swallowtail balancing on the styles of the flowers, the color and texture of its wings, the sharpness of the butterfly and the flower and the depth of field behind, and the shadows of the styles on that leaf. The white flower with the yellow bits of pollen atop the styles, the black butterfly with its pops of colors, and that leaf all add up to a really nice keeper.

July 7, 2018. Nikon D7100 (DX sensor), Nikon 70–300mm lens at 300mm (35mm equivalent: 450mm), f/6.7, 1/1,500, ISO ???.