Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Female Black Form

Description:

Female Tiger Swallowtails come in both a light and dark form (pictured here). The dark form still has the blue spots, but it is otherwise very dark with no yellow. A dark female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail mimics another butterfly called the Pipevine Swallowtail. Mimicry is when one animal looks just like another animal in order to gain safety or some other advantage. Pipevine Swallowtails eat a plant called Pipevine which makes them taste nasty to predators. Predators will learn to leave them alone. The dark female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail will also get left alone since it looks like a Pipevine Swallowtail, even though it is good to eat! Female tiger swallowtails will only have the dark form if a lot of Pipevine Swallowtails live in the same area. However, there will still be some light form females as well.

Habitat:

This one was photographed in east-central Georgia in a butterfly garden.

Notes:

Host plants of Eastern Tiger Swallowtails include Yellow Poplar, Black Willow, Black Cherry, American Hornbeam, Red Maple, Spicebush, American Elm, and Sassafras