black swallowtail | skymeadows

black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)

CONFIRMATION STATUS: Confirmed.

FAMILY: Parnassians and Swallowtails (Papilionidae)
SUBFAMILY: Swallowtails (Papilioninae)

IDENTIFICATION: 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 hind- wing with iridescent blue band. In the Southwest, yellow

forms predominate in the subspecies Papilio coloro.

LIFE HISTORY: Males perch and patrol for receptive females. Female

lays eggs singly on leaves and flowers of the host, which are then eaten by
hatching larvae. Hibernates as a chrysalis.

FLIGHT: One-2 flights from April-October in northern regions of range;
3 flights in southern regions.

WING SPAN: 3 1/4 - 4 1/4 inches (8 - 11 cm).

CATERPILLAR HOSTS: Leaves of plants in the parsley family (Api-

aceae) including Queen Anne's Lace, carrot, celery and dill. Sometimes

plants in the citrus family (Rutaceae) are preferred.

ADULT FOOD: Nectar from flowers including red clover, milkweed, and
thistles.

HABITAT: A variety of open areas including fields, suburbs, marshes,
deserts, and roadsides.

RANGE: Most of the eastern U.S., north into Quebec, west into s.
Saskatchewan, Colorado and se. California; south to n. South America.
Subspecies coloro in desert Southwest.

CONSERVATION: Not usually of concern.

NATURESERVE GLOBAL STATUS: G5 - Demonstrably secure glob-

ally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the
periphery.

MANAGEMENT NEEDS: Maintain open fields in East.

SKY MEADOWS OCCURRENCE:

Note: Due to seasonal conditions in this region, occurrence may vary from

year to year. The designation of occurrence may range over two or more

categories and may vary even during a single season.

Key to Checklist

A   Abundant: Easy to see very large numbers of individuals in appropriate habitat
      at proper time of year.
C   Common: Usually each to see good numbers of individuals in appropriate habitat
      at proper time of year.
U   Uncommon: Sometimes found in appropriate habitat and proper time of year,
      usually in low numbers.
O   Occasional: Found in appropriate habitat perhaps only a few times a year, usually
      in low numbers.
R   Rare: Small chance of being found, even in appropriate habitat at proper time of
      year. There are few individuals and may not be present every year.
X   Extirpated: Formerly present, no longer occurs in Sky Meadows Park.