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Butterfly (Black Swallowtail)

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Papilo polyxenes
Butterfly (Black Swallowtail)

Range

They are found in southern Canada from Quebec west to Saskatchewan, south into the eastern U.S., in Colorado and parts of California south to South America.

Habitat

They live in fields, farms and gardens.

Body Traits

They have dark wings with rows of yellow spots. On the inside edge of each hind wing there is an orange eye spot with a black dot in the center. They have a row of blue patches between the rows of yellow spots. Their wingspan is up to 3.5".

Habits

Their caterpillar may be a garden pest. They hibernate as a chrysalis.

Diet

Leaves of plants in the parsley, wild carrot, celery and dill.

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School subscriptions can access more than 175 downloadable unit bundles in our store for free (a value of $1,500).

District subscriptions provide huge group discounts for their schools. Email for a quote: sheri@exploringnature.org.

Reproduction

Females lay a single egg on leaves. When young hatch, they start eating.

Butterfly (Black Swallowtail)

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class:     Insecta
Order:     Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus:     Papilio
Species: P. polyxenes

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