Everything about The Pipevine Swallowtail totally explained
The
Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly (
Battus philenor)
is a
swallowtail butterfly which is found in
North and
Central America.
Range
The butterfly ranges from southern
Canada southwards across
USA to
Mexico,
Tres Marias islands and onto
Guatemala and
Costa Rica.
In the United States, the butterfly is found in
New England down to
Florida, from Southern
Ontario (
Canada) to
Nebraska,
Texas,
Arizona,
California,
Oregon and
New Mexico.
Description
» For a key to the terms used see Lepidopteran glossary
The upper surface of the hind wings of the male butterfly has an iridescent metallic blue sheen. The hindwings also have a series of pale, arrow-head markings above and a single row of seven round orange spots, which never touch, set in an iridescent blue field below.
The forewings are dull blackish-brown.
Life cycle
After mating, females lay batches of eggs on the underside of the leaves of a host plant. The caterpillars feed in small groups when young, but become solitary when older. Chrysalis overwinters.
Caterpillar
The caterpillar of the Pipevine swallowtail is reddish-brown. It has rows of fleshy, red or black coloured tubercles on its back.
Host plants
Host plants for the caterpillars include the Pipevine (
Aristolochia species), including
A. californica,
A. serpentaria and others. Pipevines confer a poisonous quality to the larvae and resulting adults, much as the
monarch butterfly obtains protection by feeding on milkweed, or
heliconiines by feeding on
passion flowers.
Nectar resources
Adults seek nectar from flowers, including
thistles (
Cirsium species),
bergamot,
lilac,
viper's bugloss, common
azaleas,
phlox,
teasel, azaleas,
dame's rocket,
lantana,
petunias,
verbenas,
lupines,
yellow star thistle,
buckeye, and
butterfly bush.
Mimicry
It is
mimicked by the dark-
morph Eastern Tiger Swallowtail females which are palatable to
predators. This morph is most often found where the two species' ranges overlap. It is also mimicked by the
sympatric subspecies of
Limenitis arthemis, the Red-spotted Purples.
Footnotes
Further Information
Get more info on 'Pipevine Swallowtail'.
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