ECO-POSTCARD
Spicebush Swallowtail
The Spicebush Swallowtail belongs to the family Papilionidae. It's taxonomic name is Papilio troilus. This butterfly is mostly black with white spots on the edges, and hints of orange and blue throughout. Its wingspan is 3-4 inches or 7.5-10 centimeters. When they are caterpillars, they resemble small snakes with large eyes. During the day, they hide in folded leaves, but come out at night to eat. They live in wooded areas, swamps, parks, and fields. This butterfly is very commonly found in natural areas and flower gardens in the eastern part of the mid-western United States. These butterflies are typically seen flying around between April and October.
The upper surface of this butterfly is most black with small yellow spots around the edges of the wings. These spots continue down until they reach the hindwings, where the central area of the hindwings have blue scales on females and blue-green scales on males. The lower edges of the hindwings have “tails”, which reach from the margin of the wing to the red spots on the lateral sides of their wings. These tails and red spots are thought to mimic antennae and eye-like structures that are used to keep predators away.
The female Spicebush Swallowtails actively search for plants to lay their eggs on. When trying to find host plants to lay their eggs on, females use chemicals and visual hints to locate the right ones. Before laying her eggs, she will beat the plant with her eggs to identify the taste of it. The males engage in courtship rituals for a brief moment when they meet the females, which helps to attract the female and can lead to potential mating. During mating, the females particularly like being in the direct sunlight, but the males do not. They participate in “puddling”, which is a behavior they use when patrolling for mates or food. These butterflies form groups and inhabit river banks and wet areas because they will draw the moisture from these areas when they are puddling. |
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This butterfly is important because it is a major pollinator around gardens and natural lands of the eastern and mid-western United States. They help to pollinate flowers that some bees or other pollinators cannot. These butterflies can see a wider array of colors than other pollinators, which means they are able to pollinate more plants than some other insects. It is very important that we protect this species and all species of butterflies because they serve as pollinators for many different types of plants, which helps our ecosystems thrive.
The lifecycle of the Spicebush Swallowtail has four stages. The first stage is an egg, which are laid on the underside of the leaves on a host plant. When they first hatch, they resemble a bird dropping, but later, they change shapes into one that mimics a snake. Their next phase of life is a caterpillar, where they are a green color that allows them to be camouflaged to protect from predators. Then, during winter months they hibernate in a pupa, which is disguised with a brown color to resemble a dead leaf. Their last stage of life is an adult butterfly, where they become larger, have wings, and are coated in beautiful colors. As for their diet, it changes during the different stages of their lives. When they are larvae, they feed on leaves and shrubs of the host plants. When they are adults, they will, of course, eat nectar, especially on honeysuckle, thistle flowers, and clovers.
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SOURCES:
http://www.gardenswithwings.com/butterfly/Spicebush_Swallowtail/index.html
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/spicebush_swallowtail.htm
https://www.butterflyidentification.com/spicebush-swallowtail.htm
https://www.psu.edu/dept/nkbiology/naturetrail/speciespages/spicebushswallowtail.htm
https://www.animalspot.net/spicebush-swallowtail.html
http://www.gardenswithwings.com/butterfly/Spicebush_Swallowtail/index.html
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/spicebush_swallowtail.htm
https://www.butterflyidentification.com/spicebush-swallowtail.htm
https://www.psu.edu/dept/nkbiology/naturetrail/speciespages/spicebushswallowtail.htm
https://www.animalspot.net/spicebush-swallowtail.html