Complete Guide To The Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly
Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly
- Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies are distasteful—if not downright toxic—to many predators.
- Pipevine caterpillars eat and sequester in their body tissues aristolochic acid, which is manufactured by their larval host plants, plants in the Birthwort family Aristolochiaceae.
- Caterpillars retain these toxins even through metamorphosis, so adults are as toxic to predators.
- Male Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies retain a stable level of aristolochic acid throughout their lives. But adult females lose their aristolochic acid as they age, probably because they donate some of the toxin to their eggs (Fordyce et al. 2015).
- This chemical defense is so effective against predators that several other butterfly species mimic the Pipevine Swallowtail’s black and blue coloration. These include:
- Female Diana Fritillaries (Speyeria diana)
- Dark form female Eastern Tiger Swallowtails (Papilio glaucus)
- Spicebush Swallowtails (Papilio troilus)
- Red-spotted Purples (Limenitis arthemis astyanax)
- The mimicry of Pipevine Swallowtails by other, harmless creatures is an example of “Batesian mimicy”.
- In Batesian mimicry, only the harmless animals benefit.
- Another English common name for Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies is “Blue Swallowtail” (Pyle 1981).
Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly Images
Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly Battus philenor. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly Battus philenor. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly Battus philenor. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly Battus philenor. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly Battus philenor. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly Battus philenor. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly Caterpillar Images
How To Identify Pipevine Swallowtail Butterflies
- Wingspan: 2.75 – 3.4 inches (7.0 cm – 8.6 cm)
- Above:
- Coal-black fore wings and metallic blue hind wings decorated with a line of crescent-shaped white spots above.
- Males have more blue on their wings than females.
- The vibrancy of the blue color changes with the angle sunlight hits the wings.
- Coal-black fore wings and metallic blue hind wings decorated with a line of crescent-shaped white spots above.
- Below:
- Matte gray fore wings with small white spots along edge.
- Hind wings have a single, curved row of large, bright orange spots embedded in a bright, metallic blue band.
Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly Battus philenor labelled with field marks that identify the species. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly Battus philenor labelled with field marks that identify the species. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
How to Find Pipevine Swallowtail Butterflies
- Flight Season: Adults fly between late February and early November.
- Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies live throughout North Carolina.
- They are most abundant in the western part of the state, in the Appalachian Mountains.
- Look for Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies in forests, especially near streams, and along the edges of thick woods.
- Adult Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies eat nectar from flowers. They particularly like nectar from:
- Honeysuckles (family Caprifoliaceae)
- Southern Bush Honeysuckle (Diervilla sessilifolia)
- Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
- Milkweeds (family Asclepiadaceae)
- Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
- Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Thistles (family Asteraceae)
- Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare)
- Yellow or Horrid Thistle (Cirsium horridulum) (Pyle 1981).
- Honeysuckles (family Caprifoliaceae)
Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly Classification
|
Phylum |
Arthropoda |
|
Class |
Insecta |
|
Order |
Lepidoptera |
|
Family |
Papilionidae (Swallowtail and Parnassian Butterflies) |
|
Genus |
Battus |
|
Species |
B. philenor |
Binomial Name |
Battus philenor |
