Black Swallowtail (NPS Manassas National Battlefield Park Butterflies and Moths)

Black Swallowtail

Papilio polyxenes

Summary ⁶

The (Eastern) Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes), also called the American Swallowtail or Parsnip Swallowtail, is a butterfly found throughout much of North America. It is the state butterfly of Oklahoma. An extremely similar-appearing species, Papilio joanae, occurs in the Ozark Mountains region, but it appears to be closely related to Papilio machaon, rather than P. polyxenes.

Distribution ⁷

The range of black swallowtails (also known as American swallowtails) extends from Southern Canada, through North America, and down to South America. Included in the South American range are the West Indies. In North America, black swallowtails are not commonly found west of the Rocky Mountains.

Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); neotropical (Native )

Morphology ⁸

Adult black swallowtails range in length from seven to nine cm, and can reach a wingspan of 11.5 cm. Older larva vary from green to yellow and most often each segment is crossed by a black band. Pupae of this species can vary from green and yellow, to brown and white, to a black form.

The upper surface of an adult is black with two rows of yellow spots past the middle or median of the wing. In females these yellow spots are narrow and lighter, or nonexistent as is the case in North America where they can mimic Battus philenor (pipevine swallowtails). On the upper surface of the adults' hind wing, there are irridescent blue spots on males and an irridescent blue band on females. On the upperside of the hindwing there is a large red spot that has a black center towards the tail. Under the forewing there are yellow spots, and on the underside of the hindwing there are a row of orange-red spots, in front of blue caps, followed by black centered red spots towards the tail.

Range length: 7 to 9 cm.

Range wingspan: 11.5 (high) cm.

Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: sexes colored or patterned differently

Habitat ⁹

Black swallowtails tend to be found in open areas such as meadows, fields, parks, gardens, lowlands, marshes, and deserts.

Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical

Terrestrial Biomes: desert or dune ; savanna or grassland

Wetlands: marsh

Number of occurrences ¹⁰

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: 81 to >300

Behaviour ¹¹

Adults feed mainly from nectar and mud. Males both perch and patrol for females (Scott, 1986).

Reproduction ¹²

To find a female black swallowtail, males alternately perch on the tops of hills and then patrol in flat areas. Males defend territories of about 70 square meters where they perch and patrol. It has been found that about 67% of their day is spent perching, 25% patrolling, 6% feeding, and lastly 2% interacting with other butterflies. The location chosen by a male can and most often does change daily. Black swallowtails mate on hilltops. Courtship lasts for about 45 seconds. The male and female will flutter near each other momentarily, fly an approximate distance of 20 meters away from where courtship started and mate after landing. The coupling lasts from 30 to 45 minutes. After a successful mating, a female must survive, temporarily avoid, and reject other courting males. Many times, if the female survives, she will mate more than once to ensure fertilization of her eggs.

Females lay round, cream-colored eggs on the leaves of Umbelliferae plants. A female black swallowtail lays on average 200 - 440 eggs, 30 - 50 per day, starting at two days after emergence from the pupal stage.

Range eggs per season: 200 to 440.

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); oviparous

Once eggs are fertilized and laid, there is no longer any parental care.

Parental Investment: pre-fertilization (Provisioning)

Conservation status ¹³

These butterflies are widespread and do not seem to be threatened.

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

State of Michigan List: no special status

Sources and Credits

(c) D. Gordon E. Robertson, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_Swallowtail,_male,_Ottawa.jpg
(c) Ken Slade, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2257/3608083953_9845a55a50.jpg
(c) Ken Slade, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5012/5529568366_bbdb91c897.jpg
(c) Steven Severinghaus, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/4829538080_5874209ed0.jpg
(c) Mary Keim, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2599/5787665936_72706e7b24.jpg
Adapted by Allie Hay from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papilio_polyxenes
Adapted by Allie Hay from a work by (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31412831
Adapted by Allie Hay from a work by (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31412833
(c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31412832
(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28748814
(c) Leslie Ries, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/17780190
(c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31412834
(c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31412839

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