Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly

This pic is so bad I'm almost ashamed to put it on my blog without a disclaimer saying something like "It's not my fault."  Sadly, though, it is my fault for being a pretty mediocre photographer.  And I apologize.

If you can see it at all, you might recognize the yellow butterfly in the center as a Yellow Swallowtail (Papilio machaon).  These little guys are really common in Central Florida; I've seen them so many times it was never a really big deal before.  Ah, but now that I'm an amateur naturalist, everything in nature must be a big deal to me.  I will keep reminding myself of this.

So anyway, here's the pic:

And some basic info about the Yellow Swallowtail:

It's about 10 cm long and found almost everywhere in the world and in many different habitats, although they seem to prefer swampy areas or marshland.  It's named for the swallow bird (you know, the ones who always come back to Capistrano) because their tales are forked.  It is also the largest butterfly in Britain.  Point of interest: the largest butterfly in America is the Great Swallowtail, with a wingspan of up to 16 inches!