Black Swallowtail
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| Papilio polyxenes Fabricius, 1775 |
The Black Swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes, is a butterfly found throughout much of North America. It is the state butterfly of Oklahoma.
The Black Swallowtail has a wingspan of 3 1/4 inches to 4 1/4 inches (8 to 11 centimeters). The upper surface of the wings is mostly black. On the inner edge of hindwing is a black spot centered in larger orange spot. A male of this species has a yellow band near edge of wings; a female has row of yellow spots. The hindwing of the female has an iridescent blue band.
In the Southwest USA, yellow forms predominate in the subspecies Papilio polyxenes coloro.
After mating, small, yellow eggs are laid, typically on garden plants from the carrot family, including dill, fennel and parsley. First instar larvae grow to about 1.5 cm (0.6 inch) long, resemble bird droppings and are dark purple-brown with a white band in the middle and have spikes, with a light brown-orange ring at the base of each of the spikes in the dark region (spikes are white on the white band). Later instars grow to about 5 cm (2 inches) and are yellow-white and black banded with yellow spots around every second black band. They have short, black spikes around some of the black bands, although these tend to disappear as the larva nears pupation.
 First instar caterpillar in Northeast Georgia. |
 Second or third instar larvae in Northeast Georgia. These still have spikes. |
 Black swallowtail larva, nearly ready to pupate. |
 Closer view of a caterpillar which will soon pupate. |
 Closeup of another caterpillar soon ready to pupate |
 Another view of the same caterpillar |
[edit] References
- Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly: Large format reference quality (free) photographs Cirrus Digital Imaging
- Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly: Fairfax County Public Schools
- Papilio polyxenes (TSN 188543). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 6 February 2006.
This article is adapted in part from this page at the USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center.
