The distinctive spoon-shaped tails of this species are visible from above, helping to differentiate from other swallowtails, such as the Pipevine and the dark form of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.

This Spicebush Swallowtail is taking nectar on Jerusalem Artichoke, Helianthus tuberosus, I believe. I think this is a native plant in this part of North Carolina, but am not completely sure. The plant is also known as "sunchoke" and is cultivated for its tasty tubers. It is native (or naturalized?) in the Piedmont of North Carolina, and quite popular with butterflies. The "Jerusalem" is supposedly folk-etymology (an alteration) of an Italian term for sunflower, girasole, "turning to the sun". (I've seen the origin listed as a Latin phrase as well.) The tubers supposedly taste like the unrelated artichoke.