Battle Between a Butterfly and a Bee

So, here you are, a newly eclosed Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus, eager to sip some nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville garden.

It's a warm, windless day, and you're anxious to score, score, score.

You touch down on a Tithonia, but something whizzes by your tails.

Whoa! What was that? 

You're startled, alarmed, and irritated. It's a territorial male long-horned bee, probably a Melissodes agilis. He aims to dislodge you from your blossom in his attempt to save the nectar for his would-be girlfriends.

You teeter, then totter, then take off. You touch down on another Tithonia.

Hey! Bee brain! Quit targeting me? Go away! 

You head for another blossom, determined to grab a least "a little" nectar.

Stop it! Leave me alone! Go take a vacation!

But the bee isn't about to take a vacation. And he won't allow your "staycation."

Spoiler alert: The butterfly admits defeat and departs the flower garden, exasperated but with tails intact. The bee emerges victorious, its real estate intact.

Score: Bee, 3, Butterfly, 0. 

The turf battle is over for today. Tomorrow? That's another day and another battle.