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gcertain_gw

Spicebush Swallowtail?

gcertain
17 years ago

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These pictures were made April 16. When I shot them, I thought the butterfly was a Pipevine Swallowtail, based on the irridescense of the hind wings and the bright orange spots on the underside. I discovered the pics today in my PVS folder  clearly, this is not a PVS, but what is it?

If it is, indeed, a Spicebush Swallowtail, it's the first time I've photographed one. (I'd say it's the first one I've ever seen, but how could I be sure, since I'm not even sure I've seen one this time.)

Comments (5)

  • MissSherry
    17 years ago

    It's a male spicebush swallowtail. Male spicebush swallowtails usually have a blue/green/silvery wash on the topside of their hindwings, but I have some that have a mint green wash, the same color as their mint colored lunules. I've read that I have two types here, the regular spicebush swallowtail and the coastal spicebush swallowtail. I'm thinking that the one with the green wash is the coastal type, but I'm not sure.
    Here's a picture of a male colored something like yours -
    {{gwi:447581}}
    And here's a male with the green wash - a coastal spicebush male?
    {{gwi:445084}}
    MissSherry

  • gcertain
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Yeehaaaa! (That's Southern for woohooo!) I knew if I could catch MissSherry online, I would get the answer right away.

    Didn't you point out last year the distinctive pattern -- a missing orange spot -- on the underside of the hindwing? I had both Audubon's and Peterson's field guides open to pictures of the black swallowtails, and that pointed blue cell third from the left is the only thing that gave it away.

    I found some blackform female Tigers hiding in that folder, too. I've got to look at these pictures more closely when I take them off the camera.

  • MissSherry
    17 years ago

    No, Geni, black swallowtails and spicebush swallowtails look so much alike on their undersides, and they're so different on their topsides, that I've never even tried to ID them strictly on undersides.
    MissSherry

  • gcertain
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    MissSherry, I apologize for misattributing that to you. I wish I could remember who pointed it out. It was one of those lightbulb moments for me. Here's a closeup of the spot I was talking about.
    {{gwi:447584}}

  • emmayct
    17 years ago

    He He He , after all this time I checked out this post.

    I think it might have been me to point that out. Ever since I learned that bit of info, I've never had much trouble telling them apart. But there are always so many subtle differences in species that are hard to spot in the beginning. And once you learn them, you wonder how you could have ever been confused.

    Maryann

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