Battus philenor
Copyright 2001, Troy Bartlett (http://troyb.com/photo/index.htm)
Battus philenor
Copyright 2001, Troy Bartlett (http://troyb.com/photo/index.htm)
The Pipevine Swallowtail
can be a difficult butterfly to identify, because there are
several other butterflies with the same size and
colors. Pipevine Swallowtails can
have a wingspan up to 3 1/2 inches. They are black with
bluish-green metallic color on the hind wings. Females have
a row of yellowish-white dots, males do not. When a Pipevine
Swallowtail folds its wings while it's resting, you will see
a curved row of bright orange dots underneath its
wings. Pipevine Swallowtails are
found in fields,
meadows,
gardens, parks, open woods, roadsides, and
streamsides. These butterflies fly
from April until early Fall. Copyright 2002, Will
Cook Randy Emmitt, Copyright
2001 Male Pipevine
Swallowtail Randy Emmitt, Copyright
2001 Female Pipevine
Swallowtail During breeding
season, the male Pipevine Swallowtail patrols a
territory,
waiting for a female to arrive. After mating, the female
lays several eggs on the underside of a leaf. Eggs are
rust-colored. Pipevine Swallowtails only lay their eggs on
host
plants which their larvae
will be able to eat. Host plants include plants from the
Pipevine Family, such as Dutchman's Pipe and Virginia
Snakeroot. Larvae will not eat any other types of
plants. Dale Clark Bill Howell Butterfly larvae, called
caterpillars,
are small and stick together when they are first born. They
eat the leaves
of their host plant and grow quickly. Plants in the Pipevine
Family have chemicals in them which are poisonous
to most animals. Caterpillars are able to eat them without
being harmed. In fact, the chemicals stay inside the
caterpillars and make them poisonous to most
predators. Caterpillars are not
poisonous when they are young, but after they have eaten a
lot of pipevine and have grown, they are poisonous and move
off to live on their own. When caterpillars are
full grown, they are black with red spines. Caterpillars can
be over two inches long. Now the caterpillar is
looking for a place to pupate
(resting stage). They never pupate on their host plant, but
crawl a ways away. The pupa stage of the
butterfly, called a chrysalis,
is brown or light green, depending on the surface they
attach to. Chrysalids have an interesting shape with curves,
angles, and horns. If a larva pupates early
in Summer, it emerges as a butterfly in a few weeks and
mates. If it pupates in late Summer or Fall, it stays in its
chrysalis through Winter, and emerges next
Spring. Robert Parks Copyright 2002, Will
Cook As adults,
Pipevine Swallowtails' food is flower nectar.
Some of the flowers they visit include honeysuckles,
milkweeds, and thistles. Besides getting food, they help the
plants by pollinating
them. Like other butterflies,
Pipevine Swallowtails get moisture and nutrients
from "puddling." Puddling is when many butterflies are seen
at one spot, such as a shallow puddle, mud, or animal poop.
The picture to the left shows Pipevine Swallowtails on horse
poop. Usually, caterpillars do
not harm their host plants too badly; but sometimes, if
there are a lot of caterpillars, they can defoliate (eat all
of its leaves) and kill it. Pipevine Swallowtails are
a big help to other butterfly species without even trying.
Because adult butterflies are poisonous to predators from
all the pipevine they eat as caterpillars, most birds avoid
them. Other butterfly species have developed
mimicry.
Mimicry is when one animal copies the look of another, and
gains protection. Some species that mimic Pipevine
Swallowtails include Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (females),
Eastern Black Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, and
Red-spotted Purple. None of these species are poisonous, but
birds avoid them because they have the same color and size
as Pipevine Swallowtails. Copyright 2002, Will
Cook
Relationships in Nature:
Spicebush Swallowtail
Mi Butterfly Bush Red-spotted Purple Mi
Relationship to Humans:
Pipevine Swallowtails are beautiful animals that are a treat to see. Some people grow pipevines in their yards just to attract these butterflies. They also help pollinate beautiful flowers.