Handmade Strong Scented Wax Melts | Resin Fluid Art | Fluid Art | Resin Decor | Resin Products | Digital Art | Mixed Media Artist | Author of Short Stories
FLUTTER OF WINGS COLLECTION: Spicebush Swallowtail Skullfly Wax Melt Art Loaf
I started the Flutter of Wings Collection to honor the different types of butterfly species this beautiful planet has gifted us with, and I thought that the perfect introduction to this new collection would be the Spicebush Swallowtail.
I chose this beautiful species as I do not think a lot of people have much knowledge about them and their beauty.
So I, I will paint you in silver, I will wrap you in cold
I will lift up your voice as I sing
"Silver & Cold" is one of my favorite AFI songs and I have always loved that verse the most, and I thought it was fitting.
Papilio Troilus | Artwork: Vanessa Theodore 2025
The Spicebush Swallowtail can be found in a few places; Canada, South Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas. And their habitat mainly consists of gardens, wildflower fields, and in the woods.
Their appearance is absolutely stunning! The upper part of their wings are dark, typically black, with yellow dots along the sides. The lower part of their wings do also have the yellow spots, but with added light blue patches that are closer to the body. And one spot on each lower wing has a red-orange color.
Their wingspan is an impressive width of 2.25".
A spicebush swallowtail taking a break in Toledo, OH.
The caterpillars roll themselves up and hide in leaves! Check it out in the video below...I had to look it up for myself, because I knew that there HAD TO BE a video somewhere on YouTube, and it's so cool to watch!!!!
The spicebush swallowtail are a nocturnal species, they spend the day rolled up in leaves to avoid their predators, and come out at night for feeding time. They eat spicebush and sassafras.
The female spicebush swallowtail lays one egg on a spicebush leaf; when it hatches, the caterpillar will eat the leaves.
I have never seen a butterfly lay an egg before and when I was doing my research on the spicebush swallowtail, I actually found a video of the butterfly laying an egg. It is SO FASCINATING to watch. Here I am, sitting in my living room with my dogs, Juno and Daisy, rooting for this butterfly laying an egg. I'm a nerd. Whatever.
I could keep going on and on, but I will leave you some resourceful links if you would like to further educate yourself about this butterfly, but I think it's time to talk about my sweet ass wax melt art loaf that I did in honor of this beautiful butterfly!!!
Artwork | Photography | Video | Editing | Creation™: Vanessa Moylan-Theodore for Vanessa Theodore Art™ & Prismatic Skies™, 2024
When it comes to the original custom VMT fragrance blend for the Spicebush Swallowtail, the only thing that I did in relation to what it eats or sits on etc, was the lily, but not a candy lily. Normally, I do research on something specific and figure out the blend. This time, I did something unusual and just grabbed what I thought smelled great together and it worked out! There was no real planning for the blend, but there was planning for the design...
But in classic Vanessa style, this creation is jam packed with notes!!!
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