Thank you to our guest at Le Chene, Jeremy Birkett who took this picture last week whilst staying and enjoying the Lavender in the garden.
The ‘Scarce Swallowtail’ is infact quite common in central and southern Europe. The name ‘Scarce’ is the result of its status in the UK as it was at one time believed to be a very rare resident in Britain but is now known to be a very rare migrant. There is some confusion with this species. Those found in Spain and Portugal are often refered to as the Spanish Swallowtail or Spanish Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthamelii), while butterflies from across the rest of Europe are known as Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius).
Have you spotted one ?
