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Project Noah Nature School
Limenitis arthemis astyanax
All black butterfly with yellow orange and blue markings.
Found underneath an apple tree on a rotten apple.
Though there are some similarities in coloration and shape(this is a form of mimicry actually), the color and pattern are different. Black Swallowtails and Spicebush Swallowtails (which also look similar) are believed to be distasteful to predators so this butterfly has evolved to mimic them to avoid being eaten.
Black Swallowtail female:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/551137/bgi...
http://bugguide.net/node/view/546730/bgi...
Spicebush Swallowtail:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/408597
http://bugguide.net/node/view/76320
Nice spotting!
Spotted on Jul 6, 2012
Submitted on Jul 7, 2012
+3
