Swallowtails

Mating Black Swallowtails. Papilio polyxenes. When I first saw this, I though it might be a hanging dead butterfly, all torn up from the vicissitudes. Always double-check the anomalies!Interestingly, this pair attracted another male, if not more than one over the ten to fifteen minutes I was there. (Black Swallowtails are all over.)The second male really wanted in on the action.Does this work?

Bonus Swallowtails:
The female Black Swallowtail. She lays her eggs on many members of the parsley family (Apiaceae).
The male Black Swallowtail.
This is a male Spicebush Swallowtail, missing some of his hindwings. Papilio troilus. The Black Swallowtails are all over Green-Wood, but this is a rarer butterfly there — this is the only one I’ve seen this summer so far. No photograph of a female at present. The female lays her eggs on spicebush, sassafras and other laurels (Lauraceae).

2 Responses to “Swallowtails”


  1. 1 Paul Lamb August 16, 2019 at 5:18 am

    “all torn up from the vicissitudes.” Nice!

    Whence the name “swallowtail”?


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