I've looked but cannot find this one's adult.
Anyone Know This Little Guy?
It is the eastern tiger swallotail a gorgeous butterfly.
http://www.dallasbutterflies.com/Butterflies/LARVA/glaucuslarva.html
Actually, it's a Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus), a close relative of the Eastern Tiger.
Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com
Yay! Thank you! I'm always happy to have a new variety around and he looked like he would turn into something beautiful.
Oh Dale, after looking through your web site, I'm feeling very guilty about a couple of worms that I found on my vegetables and gave to the chickens! Lesson learned.
Sweet....we all have been made aware of our mistakes of the past....it is what you do with the knowledge now that is important. ;-)
Congrats on the SBST (Spicebush Swallowtail)
This message was edited Jun 12, 2012 11:29 AM
Thanks Sheila! I'll tell her to fly your way when she's finished here.
Dale, is the size of the eye spots the main difference.?
Josephine: Yes, Eastern Tigers have very small eye spots (they aren't actually eyes, just something to startle predators). They also don't have the second big yellow splotch that Spicebush Swallowtail larvae have.
Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com
sweet.....There is not many pictures of the caterpillars in bug files. You might consider posting one of yours. http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/go/94/
Thank you Dale, now I know the difference, I hope I can remember it.
We don't get many Spicebush Swallowtails in the DFW area, Josephine. Although, this year, I've had one be-bopping around the yard. I've got a couple hundred Spicebush Swallowtail larvae going right now. Hopefully, my spicebush will hold out to bring everyone through so I don't have to make a trip to East Texas. Anyway, if you see a similar caterpillar around our area it's almost certainly going to be an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Host plants are totally different, too. Of course, the one pictured above is just wandering around, which is a little odd. It doesn't look like it's about to pupate -- they change color to yellow when they do that. Must have gotten dislodged from a spicebush or sassafras nearby.
Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com
Thank you for the info Dale.
I have a small spicebush at the Fielder house butterfly garden in the hopes that they might come there, but I have never had any, still I keep hoping.
Dale is it a matter of geography or habitat that there are not many SBST in the DFW area it is a very common up my way SE Oklahoma
Both, grits. One leads to the other. Less than 90 miles east of Dallas (Tyler area) you can readily find Spicebush Swallowtails because the geography and soil changes and therefore the habitat and available host plants change as well. Josephine, you never know, you might just get a stray over in Arlington. The larvae fold over the leaves and make a little "fort" to live in, so that's what to be on the lookout for.
Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com
Thank you Dale, I will keep an eye on it.
Strange, I do not have a spicebush nor sassafras. I did just put in a new bed with about 15 different kinds of plants from my local nursery. Do they live on anything else? I can't find her anymore.
Is a Spicebush Swallowtail & a Palamedes Swallowtail the same genre? I see that they like Bay trees and I do have a couple of those, although she was pretty far away from them when I saw her.
Spicebush Swallowtail and Palamedes Swallowtail are very closely related. The larvae and pupae both look very, very similar, although the Palamedes larva usually does not have as pronounced blue spots and has smaller eyes spots. Here's a photo of a Palamedes larva for comparison.
Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com
Sweet.... How about the Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)? It is also shown on Dale's website.
The closest I have to a Tulip Tree are a bunch of Bauhinia. I hope the little guy found something to eat!