Spicebush Swallowtail

Description:

The Spicebush Swallowtail is found mostly on the East Coast of the United States and southern Ontario in Canada. This one was bred in the Butterfly House of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. This is a fascinating butterfly for many reasons; the larvae exude silk which on drying, contracts the leaf into a shelter around the larva; larvae when small imitate bird droppings and will also exude a foul smelling liquid; the larvae when larger imitate a small snake, with large bright false eyes on the thorax and even rear up like a snake and release the orange osmeterium which looks tongue-like; when pupating, this species practices seasonal polyphenism, creating brown pupae in the autumn and green pupae in the spring and summer, a practice which allows the pupae to remain better camouflaged when leaf color changes; adults imitate another Swallowtail (the Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor) which is protected from predation by chemical substances ingested by their larvae.

Habitat:

Butterfly House, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

Notes:

See the Pipevine Swallowtail: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/417...