I was wrong; the butterfly is male. When he spread his wings, the scent glands were easy to spot. They’re the two black dots on his hind (lower) wings.
It was too cold and rainy to let him go yesterday. Today was still cold by my standards; but it warmed up into the 40′s and the sun was shining. It was a good day to set him free, although he was slightly hesitant to leave the laundry room at first. In the photo, he’s resting on John’s arm gathering his nerve. John walked him to the back door, and with one taste of fresh air, he was off. He flitted up into the sky so quickly there was no time to snap a photo.
