Spicebush Swallowtail: Stunning Papilio troilus Butterfly Uses Mimicry

Summary: Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) is a stunning New World butterfly with a passion for mimicry and puddling and with a bright orange hindwing spot.

spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus); Hocking Hills area, southeastern Ohio; Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010, 14:30: Greg Hume (Greg5030), CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Papilio troilus is a New World butterfly native to Canada and the United States. Papilio troilus claims North American homelands from southwestern Ontario in east central Canada southward across the eastern continental United States to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, with a westward extent into the Great Plains states of Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.

Strays occasionally veer as far north as North Dakota or even further to Canada’s western province of Manitoba; as far south as Cuba; and as far west as Colorado.

The genus name, Papilio, derives from the Latin word for butterfly.

Carl Linnaeus (May 23, 1707–Jan. 10, 1778), Swedish botanist, taxonomist, and zoologist extraordinaire, sought inspiration from classical mythology in his selection of specific, or species, names. The species name, troilus, conjures the mystique of one of the world’s most famous bloody confrontations, the Trojan War which raged in the 13th or 12th century BCE. Prince Troilus, one of the many sons of King Priam of Troy and his second wife, Hecuba, was the fatal target of Greek hero Achilles early in the war pursuant to a prophecy that Troy would only fall if the adolescent prince died before adulthood.

Papilio troilus has the common name in English of Spicebush Swallowtail.

Spicebush reflects the metamorphic insect’s most common host plant in the laurel family (Lauraceae), the spicily aromatic spicebush (Lindera spp.) that features three New World species: bog spicebush (Lindera subcoriacea); common spicebush or Benjamin bush (Lindera benzoin); and southern spicebush (Lindera melissifolia).

As a woodland butterfly, Spicebush Swallowtails favor woodsy habitats such as parks, pine barrens, wooded swamps and deciduous woodlands.

Spicebush Swallowtails are attracted as well to open, grassy areas such as fields, roadsides, and yards.

Spicebush Swallowtails also seek damp environments offering opportunities for puddling, extracting moisture and nutrients from mud or damp sand. Puddling often appears as socialization, with Spicebush Swallowtails gathering along with other butterfly species.

Clover (Trifolium spp.), honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.), jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) and thistle (Cirsium arvense) are favorite nectar sources.

Spicebush Swallowtails belong to the Papilionidae family, known as swallowtails because of the distinctive tail that trails from the bottom of each hindwing. The black tail usually measures about 0.35 to almost 0.5 inches (9 to 12 millimeters) in length.

As a member of the family including the birdwing butterflies, the world’s largest butterflies, Spicebush Swallowtails are unmistakably large, with wing spans measuring 3 to 4 inches (7.5 to 10 centimeters).

Coloring of upper sides presents a stunning harmony of dark brown or black, blue or blue-green, orange and white. Black and an edging of ivory spots prevail on forewings. Hindwings feature black, banded with blue for females and blue-green for males, and edged with a margin of bluish or ivory spots.

A bright, orange spot at the base of the wings is unique to Spicebush Swallowtails. The underside of the hindwing is splashed with orange spots.

Spicebush Swallowtails are able to discourage predators through their resemblance to foul-tasting Pipevine Swallowtails (Battus philenor).

Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillars progress from resembling bird droppings to being mistaken for smooth green snakes (Opheodrys vernalis).

Spicebush Swallowtails enjoy puddling in the graveled edge of the parking lot at the nature walk located 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) south of my house. In July 2015 two Spicebush Swallowtails amicably puddled, along with a bevy of Orange Sulphurs (Colias eurytheme), as my siblings and I crossed the gravel to access the recreational area’s paved road for our walk.

Upon our return about 20 minutes later we noticed that the larger of the two Spicebush Swallowtails was flying agitatedly up from the gravel and back down, repeatedly landing near a prone dark shape that close inspection revealed to be the second of the duo. With no signs of trauma, the dead Spicebush Swallowtail seems to have died, on the wing or in the midst of puddling.

Back home Spicebush Swallowtails daily regale me with their happy flights in all areas of my yard.

dorsal (upperside) and ventral (underside) views of spicebush swallowtail butterfly (Papilio troilus); Fredville, Newton County, north of Neosho National Fish Hatchery, southwestern Missouri; photo by Bruce Hallman/USFWS: USFWS Midwest Region (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service -- Midwest Region), Public Domain, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus); Hocking Hills area, southeastern Ohio; Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010, 14:30: Greg Hume (Greg5030), CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spicebush02.jpg

dorsal (upperside) and ventral (underside) views of spicebush swallowtail butterfly (Papilio troilus); Fredville, Newton County, north of Neosho National Fish Hatchery, southwestern Missouri; photo by Bruce Hallman/USFWS: USFWS Midwest Region (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service -- Midwest Region), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwsmidwest/19919804491/; CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spicebush_Swallowtail_Butterfly_(19919804491).jpg

For further information:

Cech, Rick, and Gary Tudor. Butterflies of the East Coast: An Observer's Guide. Princeton NJ; Woodstock UK: University of Princeton Press, 2007.

Hall, Donald W., and Jerry F. Butler. “Spicebush Swallowtail Papilio troilus.” University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) > Entomology and Nematology Department > Featured Creatures. October 2000; latest revision: August 2013.
Available @ http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/spicebush_swallowtail.htm#dist

Layberry, Ross A., Peter W. Hall, and J. Donald Lafontaine. The Butterflies of Canada. Toronto: Univerity of Toronto Press, 1998.

Mickley, James. “Papilio troilus.” Animal Diversity Web > Insecta.
Available @ http://animaldiversity.org/site/accounts/information/Papilio_troilus.html

“Spicebush Swallowtail.” Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility > Species Bank > Butterflies of Canada.
Available @ http://www.cbif.gc.ca/eng/species-bank/butterflies-of-canada/spicebush-swallowtail/?id=1370403265779

“Spicebush Swallowtail Papilio troilus.” Butterflies and Moths of North America > Species Search.
Available @ http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Papilio-troilus

Colias eurytheme: Black Framed Orange Yellow of Orange Sulphur Butterfly

Summary: Colias eurytheme, known in English as Orange Sulphur, is a New World butterfly with native homelands ranging from southern Canada to central Mexico.

Orange Sulphur’s undersides: Kathy (rittyrats), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Colias eurytheme is a New World butterfly native to North America. The bicoastal butterfly ranges across native homelands from southern Canada to central Mexico.

Spotty absences occur in the eastern United States, such as northwestern Alabama; central Florida; most of Georgia; northeastern to north central Illinois; most of Indiana; central western to southern Minnesota.

Colias eurytheme is known commonly in English as Alfalfa Butterfly or Orange Sulphur.

Orange Sulphur butterflies are attracted to open habitats, such as alfalfa and clover fields, meadows, prairie grasslands, roadsides and woodlands.

As sun lovers, Orange Sulphur butterflies avoid closed-canopy forests, in which tree crowns shadow most of the ground.

As a pierid butterfly, i.e., member of the Pieridae family, Orange Sulphurs display the family’s typical orange, white, or yellow coloration.

Orange Sulphur butterflies exhibit sexual dimorphism, or differences of appearance between females and males, as well as polymorphism, or myriad variations, of each gender’s color patterns. Males display rich orange-to-yellow uppersides with wide black borders and dotted with a black cell spot in each forewing and an orange cell spot in each hindwing. Females display yellow-to-white uppersides with light spots and irregular black borders.

Undersides present a muted palette of orange, yellow-green and yellow. The undersides sport a silver cell spot in each wing, with reddish tones and a satellite spot framing the hindwings and thick black rings in the forewing.

As a mid-size butterfly, Orange Sulphurs exhibit wingspans of 1/38 to 2 3/4 inches (3.5 to 7 centimeters).

Blackberry is a bramble attractive to Orange Sulphur butterflies (Colias eurytheme); Black Butte variety released by ARS scientists in Corvallis, Oregon, weighs almost twice as much as other fresh blackberry varieties: Scott Bauer/USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

As May transitioned into June in 2015, a male Orange Sulphur flitted near me among blades of grass in the strip of my yard between the south retaining wall and the southern half of my front porch. The preoccupied butterfly visited a few blades before flying over to the expansive meadow along my yard’s southern border.

The meadow’s immediate attraction appeared to center in the huge wild brier patch of wild, flowering blackberry bushes (Rubus fruticosus). White Clover (Trifolium repens) and White Sweet Clover (Melilotus alba), which number among hosts in the Fabaceae family favored by Orange Sulphur caterpillars, fragrantly frame the eastern fringes of the blackberry patch.

Orange Sulphur butterflies always bring cheery colorfulness into the faunal and floral landscapes of my outdoor world.

Orange Sulphur, Wildwood Preserve Metropark, Metroparks Toledo district, Lucas County, northwestern Ohio; Monday, Oct. 8, 2007, 14:13:45: Benny Mazur (Benimoto), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Orange Sulphur’s undersides: Kathy (rittyrats), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/rittysdigiez/1444378704/

Blackberry is a bramble attractive to Orange Sulphur butterflies (Colias eurytheme); Black Butte variety released by ARS scientists in Corvallis, Oregon, weighs almost twice as much as other fresh blackberry varieties: Scott Bauer/USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_Butte_blackberry.jpg;
Public Domain, via USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) @ https://www.ars.usda.gov/oc/images/photos/k7774-1/

Orange Sulphur, Wildwood Preserve Metropark, Metroparks Toledo district, Lucas County, northwestern Ohio; Monday, Oct. 8, 2007, 14:13:45: Benny Mazur (Benimoto), CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/benimoto/1519079685/

For further information:

Barton, B. “Colias eurytheme.” (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. 2004.
Available @ http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Colias_eurytheme/

Holm, Heather. Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants. Minnetonka MN: Hillcrest Media Group, 2014.

Marriner, Derdriu. “Chives (Allium schoenoprasum): Bon Appétit! for Azure, Blue, Marblewing, and Sulphur Butterflies." Wizzley > Plants & Gardening > Plants > Herb Plants.
Available @ http://wizzley.com/chives-allium-schoenoprasum/

Marriner, Derdriu. “Marigolds (Tagetes): Flavorous, Floriferous, and Fragrant to Skipper, Sulphur, and White Butterflies.” Wizzley > Plants & Gardening > Plants > Garden Plants.
Available @ http://wizzley.com/marigolds-genus-tagetes/

“Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme).” Gardens with Wings > Identify Butterflies.
Available @ http://www.gardenswithwings.com/butterfly/Orange%20Sulphur/index.html

“Orange Sulphur Colias eurytheme Boisduval, 1852.” Butterflies and Moths > Species.
Available @ http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Colias-eurytheme