This Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucas) was just one of many who, along with scores of bees, are enjoying the luxuriant crop of fireweed around the deck. The butterflies uncoil a tube called a proboscis to sip the flowers' nectar. This is a common species throughout North America.

This photograph is © 2005-2015 by Murray Lundberg, and is not to be copied without express permission.