moth Maybe butterfly i.d. update no luck yet.

[Shellyzoo]

Hi all
thank you so much for your responses. the closest match so far is the giant
swallowtail butterfly. The colors are the same, but the markings seemed to me a
little different. Also, I did not notice any tails, but that could have been my
inexperience. The other difference I noticed is it seems to be the wrong shape,
in that the back wings were bigger, giving it a more 'boxy' look. Also, it
absolutely flew with its back wings at rest in an upward position, using its
front two wings only. Do Giant Swallowtails do this? The pictures I have seen
of swallowtails seem to have their back wings below their forewings, so unless
it is possible to switch their position, the back wings would overlap the front
wings on the top. Is this making sense? I assure I am not crazy! I was 15 feet
away from it for many minutes, and it was definitely just one.
The reason I thought it was a moth was because it rested with its wings open,
but I just learned today that you can often tell by its antennae. Sorry if I
mislead anyone.
Is there a lot of variation within species of lepidoptera?
 Further suggestions appreciated, and happy hunting.

Thanks Shelly

Good luck and good gardening
Shelly
zone 5 OH