04/03/2026
We couldn’t believe our eyes... We witnessed an extremely rare biological occurrence here in the forest gardens today. A half black, half yellow eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly on our patch of Virginia bluebells. We just learned this is known as a Bilateral Gynandromorph Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly = half male and half female, split down the middle. This genetic variant is extremely rare and happens only once in a million!
How lucky we are to witness this unique and beautiful butterfly, even if just for a fleeting moment. Thank you nature for never ceasing to amaze us! 🦋
rarebutterfly