A gorgeous butterfly of deciduous woods, the
spicebush swallowtail is black with a row of yellow spots and a touch of iridescent blue on its hind wings.
Perhaps the most amazing example of insect mimicry found in New York is the caterpillar of the
spicebush swallowtail butterfly.
Attracts black swallowtail, giant swallowtail, Monarch, painted lady, pipevine swallowtail, queen, question mark, red admiral, red-spotted purple, zebra longwing, zebra swallowtail,
spicebush swallowtail, eastern tiger swallowtail, variegated fritillary, viceroy, eastern comma, gulf fritillary, mourning cloak, anise swallowtail and other species of butterflies.
Such a fracturing of information, interrupted by playful asides and by tidbits including an explanation of the pic's title (Mississippi's state butterfly is the
Spicebush Swallowtail), will annoy viewers accustomed to a standard doc format--and it may seem this particular subject isn't suited to a deconstructionist style.
Other good larva plants include milkweeds and butterfly weeds (for Monarch larva), snapdragons (buckeye larva), sassafras (
spicebush swallowtail), violets (spangled fritillary), cherry trees (tiger swallowtail and viceroy) and honeysuckle (hummingbird moth).
Larval adaptation to lauraceous hosts: geographic divergence in the
spicebush swallowtail butterfly.
The butterflies available are gulf fritillary, monarch, painted lady, pipevine swallowtail, question mark, red admiral,
spicebush swallowtail, tiger swallowtail, and zebra long wing.
Spicebush swallowtail Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) (Papilio troilus)
That is a
spicebush swallowtail (Papilio Troilus) in the last days of its caterpillar stage.
* In "Mail Call" (page 7), the photo of the brown "
Spicebush Swallowtail" caterpillar is of a caterpillar just one or two days prior to its transformation into a chrysalis.
Spicebush swallowtail butterflies lay their eggs on the plant's leaves, which the caterpillars then feed upon once hatched.
Spicebush swallowtails favor spicebush and sassafras.