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Battus philenor
The Pipevine Swallowtail is found in North and Central America. The butterflies are black with iridescent blue hind wings. The black or red caterpillars feed on Aristolochia species, making them poisonous as both larvae and adults. Because of this protection against predation, they are mimicked by a number of other species of butterflies including the black female morph of the eastern swallowtail, spicebush swallowtail & the red-spotted purple.
They are found in many different habitats, but are most commonly found in forests.
This is the first Pipevine swallowtail I've seen & it's obviously had a hard life as it's missing one of it's tails. It was very active so the photos aren't particularly sharp. It took off after about 30 seconds to chase off an approaching monarch butterfly.
Spotted on Sep 16, 2011
Submitted on Sep 16, 2011
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Added to Animals with Warning Colors mission. The Pipevine swallowtail's distinctive colors advertise it's toxicity to predators. The Red spotted purple & other species such as the Spicebush swallowtail & the black morph of the Eastern tiger swallowtail mimic the poisonous Pipevine swallowtail.