Pipevine swallowtail

Taxobox
name = Pipevine swallowtail
image_width = 199px

---

status = NE
status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Lepidoptera
familia = Papilionidae
subfamilia = Papilioninae
tribus = Troidini
genus = "Battus"
species = "B. philenor"
binomial = "Battus philenor"
binomial_authority = (Linnaeus, 1771).
synonyms = The Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly ("Battus philenor") [http://internt.nhm.ac.uk/jdsml/research-curation/projects/lepindex/detail.dsml?TaxonNo=166321.0&UserID=&UserName=&&listPageURL=list%2edsml%3fsort%3dSCIENTIFIC%255fNAME%255fon%255fcard%26SCIENTIFIC%5fNAME%5fon%5fcardqtype%3dstarts%2bwith%26SCIENTIFIC%5fNAME%5fon%5fcard%3dphilenor%26recLimit%3d30&searchPageURL=index%2edsml%3fSCIENTIFIC%5fNAME%5fon%5fcardqtype%3dstarts%2bwith%26sort%3dSCIENTIFIC%255fNAME%255fon%255fcard%26SCIENTIFIC%5fNAME%5fon%5fcard%3dphilenor%26recLimit%3d30 Card for "philenor" in LepIndex. Accessed 07 Jul 2007.] ] Marrku Savela's Website on Lepidoptera [http://www.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/papilionidae/papilioninae/battus/index.html|Page on "Battus" genus.] ] is a swallowtail butterfly which is found in North and Central America.

Range

The butterfly ranges from southern Canada southwards across USA to Mexico, Islas Marías and onto Guatemala and Costa Rica.Carter, David - Butterflies and Moths, (Dorling Kindersley Handbooks) pg 55 ]

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

External links

* [http://www.rlephoto.com/butterflies/swallowtail_pv01.html Pipevine Swallowtail, Butterflies of North Carolina]
* [http://www.cirrusimage.com/butterfly_pipevine.htm Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly: Reference large format photographs] Cirrus Digital Imaging
* [http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1350 Pipevine Swallowtail, Butterflies and Moths of North America]
* [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Battus_philenor.html Pipevine Swallowtail] at Animal Diversity Web

References

*. (2000) "Butterflies and Moths", (Dorling Kindersley Handbooks) (2/ed) Dorling Kindersley, London. ISBN:0 7513 2707 7

ee also

*Papilionidae

References

* Beccaloni, G. W., Scoble, M. J., Robinson, G. S. & Pitkin, B. (Editors). 2003. The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex). World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/entomology/lepindex.
* Marrku Savela's Website on Lepidoptera [http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/index.html] .