Swallowtail Butterfly

 Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Bee Balm/Monarda

This swallowtail butterfly is enjoying the last of the bee balm's flowers before the next rain shower. The bee balm or monarda has been blooming for a couple of weeks and was a favorite of the bees when it first began blooming. Today this butterfly is all alone feeding on the individual pink flower tubes.

Bee balm is also known as Oswego Tea and is recommended for medicinal uses. WebMD says: People take Oswego tea for digestive disorders including gas. It is also used for fever, spasms, and fluid retention.
Women use Oswego tea for premenstrual symptoms (PMS). Be careful not to confuse Oswego tea with lemon balm, because both are called “bee balm.”

"The Oswego Indians of western New York prepared an herbal tea from dried out fragrant monarda didyma leaves. This was picked up by the early colonial settlers, who used these leaves as a substitute for imported tea, which was in short supply following the Boston Tea Party. The Shakers believed that Oswego tea has the aptitude to treat colds as well as tender throats effectually. On the other hand, some settlers steamed the entire monarda didyma plant and breathed in the vapour to unblock sinuses".
Quote from http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_oswego_tea.htm


Bee Balm on the right.