I was stunned when I finished with a total of 90 swallowtail butterflies! Most were Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, but there were about 6 Spicebush Swallowtails as well. I decided to estimate their abundance, so I went inside and started counting swallowtails visible from the front window and the kitchen window. When I walked up to the house one afternoon a week ago, it reminded me of being inside a butterfly house, with large butterflies drifting all around me and seemingly covering every available flower head. We have a relatively small area that receives enough sunlight to grow wildflowers, and this time of year the primary nectar sources are Joe-Pye-Weed, Ironweed, and Garden Phlox. One reason they are so common for us is that our woods are dominated by one of their primary host plants, Tulip Poplar. This is especially true of our largest (and one of the most recognizable butterfly species) the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail ( Papilio glaucus). This year has been exceptional with the greatest numbers of these large butterflies that I have witnessed. Reasons: Extremely widespread and abundant.Close up of hind wings of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (click on photos to enlarge)Įvery few years, we have a population high of swallowtails here in our woods. The Red-spotted Purple ( Limenitis arthemis astyanax) occurs in forest and woodlands and are characteristic of disturbed, brushy or suburban areas. Global Range: New England south to central Florida, and west to Montana and Arizona. There have been 2 specimens observed as of December 28, 2015. There has only been one observation of this species and this was along the open habitat of Transect A on September, 29, 2008. The Red-spottted Purple is considered a rare species at the GTM. Its life cycle was beautifully illustrated during the 18th century by John Abbot (Smith 1797) ( Figure 1 ). It is also known as the blue swallowtail (e.g., Howe 1988, Iftner et al. Leaves of many species of trees and shrubs including wild cherry ( Prunus), aspen, poplar, cottonwood ( Populus), oaks ( Quercus), hawthorn ( Crataegus), deerberry ( Vaccinium stamineum), birch ( Betula), willows ( Salix), basswood ( Tilia), and shadbush ( Amelanchier). The pipevine swallowtail, Battus philenor (L.), is one of our most beautiful swallowtails. Mature larvae bear a remarkable resemblance to a bird dropping when resting on a leaf, since they are splotchy white and grey brown in color (Guppy & Shepard 2001) and have a shiny look to them. Second instar larvae construct a shelter out of a partially rolled-up leaf base with silk, and hibernate inside this structure (Guppy & Shepard 2001). albofaciata has more conspicuous white bands but they are not as broad as the bands are on L. It has a row of red submarginal spots and bluish marginal spots. The underside of the wings lacks the white band. The hind wings are either a bright iridescent blue or an iridescent bluish-green. The fore wing submarginal area will sometimes have a row of red spots. arthemis except it lacks the broad white bands. Only the Red-spotted Purple ( Limenitis arthemis astyanax) is present in Florida.īoth sexes of this species are identical except that the females are slightly larger than the males. Limenitis arthemis arthemis on the other hand has a large white band traversing both the forewings and hind wings. Limenitis arthemis astyanax has red spots on its underside and the top of the wings are notable for their iridescent blue markings. The White Admiral or Red-spotted Purple ( Limenitis arthemis) is a polytypic species of North American brush-footed butterfly, common throughout much of the eastern United States.
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