Black Swallowtail Butterfly Dorsal View
by Karen Adams
Title
Black Swallowtail Butterfly Dorsal View
Artist
Karen Adams
Medium
Photograph - Fine Art Digital Prints - Photography
Description
This is a really handsome male Black Swallowtail butterfly photographed in my Ohio garden in July 2016. The common name is Black Swallowtail . . . the scientific name is: Papilio polyxenes Fabricius, 1775
Family: Papilionidae
Subfamily: Papilioninae
To identify a Black Swallowtail look for the upper surface of wings to be mostly black; on inner edge of hindwing is a black spot centered in larger orange spots. The male has yellow band near the edge of wings, while the female has a row of yellow spots. The female hindwing will also have an iridescent blue band. The wing span is generally: 3 1/4 - 4 1/4 inches (8 - 11 cm).
Female lays eggs singly on leaves and flowers. Black Swallowtail caterpillars like to eat the leaves of plants in the parsley family (Apiaceae) including Queen Anne's Lace, carrot, celery and dill. . . . occassionally plants in the citrus family (Rutaceae) are preferred.
The adult form feeds of nectar from flowers including red clover, milkweed, and thistles. Keeping an area of wild flowers in the yard is a real help for the survival of these lovely creatures.
I have another version of this image that is cropped tighter, but I really like the quality of the background, so I am giving the viewers of FAA & Pixels the chance to decide which they prefer themselves!
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Uploaded
July 17th, 2016
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