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Insect Gallery

Swallowtail Butterflies

order Lepidoptera - family Papilionidae - subfamily Papilioninae

1) Drinking in a garden.  2-5) Eating Snow-on-the-Mountain

Giant Swallowtail Papilio cresphontes

Photos taken in Taylor County, September 2005

Photo taken in Coleman County, September 2005

(Taylor, Nolan, Callahan, Edwards, Coleman, Brown)

Butterfly: 4 - 6 1/4 inches.  Eats nectar.

Caterpillar: Black with large white blotches that looks like bird droppings.  When annoyed, it rears up and two yellow "horns" protrude from head . Eats Prickly Ash and other citrus trees and herbs.

Pupa: Pupa is brown and "L" shaped with "wires" holding it up.  Chrysalides hibernate.

Other Swallowtails in my area

Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor

2 3/4 - 5 inches.  Upper surface of hindwing iridescent blue or blue-green. Underside of hindwing with submarginal row of 7 round orange spots in iridescent blue field.

(Nolan, Shackelford, Callahan, Edwards, Coke, Coleman, Brown)

Black Swallowtail Papilio polyxenes

3 1/4 - 4 1/4 inches.  Upper surface of wings mostly black; on inner edge of hindwing is a black spot centered in larger orange spot. Male has yellow band near edge of wings; female has row of yellow spots. Female hindwing with iridescent blue band. In the Southwest, yellow forms predominate in the subspecies P. coloro.

(Callahan, Edwards, Coke, Coleman, Brown)

Two-tailed Swallowtail Papilio multicaudata

3 1/2 - 5 inches.  Upper surface of male forewing with narrow black stripes. Each hindwing has 2 tails.

(Taylor)

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