# It's a Bird!! It's a Plane!! It's..It's........a Butterfly??!? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 13, 2012, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-its-a-butterfly/624983 "2012-06-13T02:41:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frosty\_Camel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c67d28/32.png) [@Frosty\_Camel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosty_Camel)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-its-a-butterfly/624983/1 "2012-06-13T02:41:01Z")
As I was wrapping up my bicycle ride this evening, I saw ahead of me what appeared to be a strange bird with a bizarre flight pattern. When I got closer, I saw that it was without a doubt the largest butterfly I have ever seen in my life. So I whipped out my cell phone with the crappy camera while cursing myself for not bringing the Nikon. I did, however manage to get this shot: [![](https://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q570/FrostyCamel/0612122015.jpg) ](https://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q570/FrostyCamel/0612122015.jpg) After getting home I got online and found the Giant Swallowtail: > **[Papilio cresphontes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papilio_cresphontes)** > > Heraclides oxilus Hübner, > Papilio cresphontes var. maxwelli Franck, 1919 > Papilio cresphontes pennsylvanicus F. Chermock & R. Chermock, 1945 > The giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) is the largest butterfly in North America. It is abundant through many parts of eastern North America; populations from western North America and down into Panama are now (as of 2014) considered to belong to a different species, Papilio rumiko. Though it is often valued in gardens for its striking appearance, it... However, everything I can find online says that the Giant Swallowtail’s wingspan maxes out at about 6 inches. This guy was almost a foot across!! Is he a mutant? Did I find the Goliath of the swallowtail word? Or is it something else entirely? I feel privileged to have seen something like this. It made my day! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-its-a-butterfly/624983/2 "2012-06-13T02:54:51Z")
Wow, even without anything to scale it against, it looks enormous! ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-its-a-butterfly/624983/3 "2012-06-13T07:35:54Z")
It’s gorgeous, isn’t it? I can only speak in reference to my region (upper Midwest US), but it has been a banner year for butterflies and moths here. All of these critters I’ve seen this year—and I mow a 2-acre lawn every week, so I see thousands—have been considerably larger and more robust appearing than usual. It could be that you just came across the Shaquille O’Neal of Giant Swallowtails. ETA: I can’t wait for woolly bear season this year! Of course, it could also have been an Iranian stealth drone butterfly equipped with a spy camera… …but I’m voting really gigantic Giant Swallowtail. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-its-a-butterfly/624983/4 "2012-06-14T19:48:53Z")
Yeah, it’s gotta be a swallowtail. That is really neat! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-its-a-butterfly/624983/5 "2012-06-15T06:57:30Z")
I had an extensive insect collection when I was a kid, including a Giant Swallowtail. They weren’t nearly as common as the Black/Tiger/Zebra Swallowtails, in fact the one I caught was the only one I ever saw. Truly beautiful. But I can’t imagine one as large as the one you saw. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-its-a-butterfly/624983/6 "2012-06-15T07:26:38Z")
With one that big, the butterfly effect starts to seem quite plausible. In order to avoid the butterfly effect, I say we nuke it from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-its-a-butterfly/624983/7 "2012-06-16T04:23:06Z")
You need to google mothman… he warns of bad events about to come… run, run now, as fast as you can! ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-its-a-butterfly/624983/8 "2013-01-07T00:19:31Z")
I ran across this while reading **Bob Ducca** ’s detective work, and I’m shocked that no one commented on the fact that that’s a _FUCKING DEAD AND (poorly) MOUNTED BUTTERFLY!!!_. Mr. singular and I collected butterflies regularly in our thirties, and that thing is deader than umkay’s morality. Amateur. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-its-a-butterfly/624983/9 "2013-01-07T00:35:24Z")
That figures. With that, I’m closing this thread, too.