Butterflies - Swallowtails

There are 6 families of butterflies. Aside from the Monarch butterfly, the ones easiest to recognize are the swallowtails. The family name is because most of the species have tails. I don't understand the "swallow" part though, because of all the swallows, only the barn swallow has a long forked tail.

These large butterflies are pretty hard to photograph because they dart in all directions and, so far, I have only captured 4 of 20 or so species in North America. I have seen several other species both on the travels and at home. But where is the camera when the butterfly is sitting still? And where is the butterfly when I am chasing it?

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - Papilio glaucus

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (female) - Papilio glaucus

Giant Swallowtail - Papilio cresphontes

Giant Swallowtail - Papilio cresphontes

Pipevine Swallowtail - Battus philenor

Pipevine Swallowtail (male) - Battus philenor

Spicebush Swallowtail - Papilio troilus

Spicebush Swallowtail - Papilio troilus

The references and gear I used for this blog are:
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon EF100-400mm F4.5-5.6L IS USM
Camera: Canon EOS 10D
Lens: Canon EF28-105mm F/3.5-4.5 II USM
Steiner 10x42 Predator Binoculars
Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America
Kaufman Focus Guides - Butterflies
Butterflies through Binoculars The East
Butterflies through Binoculars The West
Butterflies of the Great Lakes
Caterpillars of Eastern North America
Caterpilliars in the Field and Garden

All images © MSCI