Redbreast

Redbreast by wikipedia

The Redbreast (Papilio alcmenor) is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in South Asia.

Male upperside black with, in some lights, an obscure dark indigo-blue tint. Fore wing: a series of pale adnervular streaks not extended to the base or quite to the termen but that reach well into the apical half of the cell, and a short slender streak of red rarely absent at the extreme base of the subcostal vein.

In certain specimens also the apical half or interspace 1a and of the posterior portion of interspace 1 are diffusely white. Hind wing uniform, towards the terminal or outer half sprinkled with bluish scales ; an irregular incomplete white ring at the tornal angle that encloses a black spot bordered above by red.

Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly

Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly by Wild-Jungleman

The Papilio aegeus is commonly known as the Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly. It is the largest butterfly commonly found in Brisbane where there are many citrus trees, on which the larvae feed.

Both male and female have black forewings with a white stripe, though there is more white overall on the female forewing. The hindwing is again black, and there is a white swath through the middle. Here the markings differ in that the female has chains of red to orange and blue spots toward the edge.

Despite being a swallowtail, which group derives its name from the distinctive tails on the hindwing, this character is entirely absent. The markings on the underside are similar to those on top. The body is black. The wings span about 105 millimeters, making it rather large overall and the largest butterfly commonly seen in at least part of its range.

Alpine Black Swallowtail

Alpine Black Swallowtail

The Alpine Black Swallowtail (Papilio maackii) is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Asia, in Japan, China and South Korea.

The wingspan is 70-80 mm.

The larvae feed on Phellodendron amurensis, Zanthoxylum ailanthoides and Phellodendron amurense.

Chinese peacock butterfly

Chinese peacock butterfly by Pangkin

Papilio bianor, the Chinese peacock, is a middle to large size swallowtail butterfly .

Chinese peacock butterfly by niepce1827

Papilio bianor is common in the forest, is not so common in suburban and urban, because of their host plant habitation. However if there are some host plats such as Zanthoxylum ailanthoides, it can be seen even in the urban district.

Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly

Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly by ALL Photography

Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly by CameraShyMom

The Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly (Eurytides marcellus, other authorities list the species under genera in the family including Iphiclides, Graphium and Papilio) is a swallowtail butterfly found in the eastern United States, north-east Mexico and south-east Canada. Its distinctive black and white-striped pattern is reminiscent of a zebra.

The Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly is also the official state butterfly of Tennessee.

The Zebra Swallowtail has triangular wings with long tails. It has some distinctive black and white markings on its wings and some small red and blue markings on both bottom corners of the wings. There are two seasonal forms. Spring forms are more white and have small black tails with white tips. Summer forms are more black and have longer tails with more white in them. The wingspan measures 2 2/5 to 3 1/2 inches.

Males will patrol to find females. Females lay their eggs singly on pawpaw leaves and occasionally on the tree trunks. The egg is pale green but within 3 days it turns an orange-brown color, and then it turns dark gray just before hatching. The larvae are cannibalistic.

Young larvae are black. Older larvae have two different color forms. The more common form is green with yellow and white transverse stripes. Between the thorax and the abdomen is a tricolor band with yellow toward the abdomen, black in the middle, and a bluish-white color toward the thorax. The more rare form is black with white and orange transverse stripes.

The larva has a foul-smelling, forked gland called an osmeterium which it will use to deter predators. The chrysalis is either green or brown and is more compact compared to chrysalids in the genus Papilio. The chrysalis overwinters. It has 1-2 broods per year in the north and 3-4 broods per year in the south.

Crimson Patch

Crimson Patch by Anne Toal

The Crimson Patch (Chlosyne janais), also known as the Janais Patch, is a common New World butterfly found from Colombia north through Central America and Mexico to southern Texas, with occasional sightings in southeastern Mexico and northern Texas. The dorsal and ventral wing surface is black with several undulating rows of small white spots on the medial forewings and along all outer wing margins. On each dorsal hindwing is a medial orange-red patch situated anteriorly. The ventral hindwings have a fragmented yellow proximal patch bordered by a thick postmedial band of red that does not reach the wing margins; maximum wingspan is 4.8–6.7 cm.

Adults inhabit the periphery of lowland tropical to subtropical forests, fields, and along streams, where they feed on flower nectar. Reproduction is continuous in the tropics, whereas in temperate areas several broods are produced from July to November. The caterpillars are grey-white to green with several transverse rows of fleshly black spines; they feed primarily on acanthus shrubs, especially Anisacanthus wrightii and Odontonema callistachus (in Texas), upon which adult females lay their eggs.

The Crimson Patch can reach high numbers in the Rio Grande Valley, but the population is periodically killed off by cold snaps; the area is then recolonized by members of the Mexican population. A very similar species is the Rosita Patch (C. rosita), which is distinguished from the Crimson Patch by the former's lack of spots on the wing margins.

Pipevine swallowtail

Pipevine swallowtail by rise888

The Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly (Battus philenor)is a swallowtail butterfly found in North and Central America.

Pipevine swallowtail by gracie328

The butterfly ranges from southern Canada southwards across USA to Mexico, Islas Marías and onto Guatemala and Costa Rica.

In the United States, the butterfly is found in New England down to Florida, from Southern Ontario (Canada) to Nebraska, Texas, Arizona, California, Oregon and New Mexico.

Pipevine swallowtail by Franco Folini

The upper surface of the hind wings of the male butterfly has an iridescent metallic blue sheen. The hindwings also have a series of pale, arrow-head markings above and a single row of seven round orange spots, which never touch, set in an iridescent blue field below.

The forewings are dull blackish-brown.

Spicebush Swallowtail

Spicebush Swallowtail by AllHarts

The Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) is a fairly black swallowtail found in North America. It is the state butterfly of Mississippi.

Adults can be identified by their spoon-shaped tails and by their bright green (male) or iridescent blue (female) hind-wings. Ivory spots may be visible on the forewings, and orange spots may appear on the hindwings. Wingspan may be 3 to 4 inches.

Spicebush Swallowtail by poppy2323

The caterpillars live in folded leaf shelters and eat the leaves of the sassafras or spicebush. Adults consume a variety of nectars, including those from azalea, Japanese honeysuckle, milkweed, and thistle flowers.

Both sexes are thought to be edible mimics of the distasteful Pipevine Swallowtail.

Clouded apollo

Clouded apollo by alto.zver

The Clouded Apollo (Parnassius mnemosyne) is a butterfly species of the family of Swallowtail butterflies (Papilionidae) found in Eurasia.

Clouded Apollos inhabits meadows and woodland clearings with plenty of flowering plants, both in the lowlands and in the mountains. It is not usually found at altitudes above 1500m except in the Asian mountains where it is known also from higher altitudes.

Clouded apollo by nkis

Its range of distribution extends from the Pyrenees, across the Central Massif, the Alps, and the Carpathians as far as central Asia. It inhabits all European countries including Norway, where it appears rarely and only in certain places. A great number of different geographical races and individual forms are distinguished in this extensive region. The most striking specimens include the dark race from the eastern Bavarian Alps (ssp. hartmanni ); form melania has the most pronounced dark colouring.

Rajah Brooke's Birdwing

Rajah Brooke's Birdwing by MeiLyn

Rajah Brooke's Birdwing (Trogonoptera brookiana) is a distinctive black and electric-green birdwing butterfly from the rainforests of Borneo and the Malaysian Peninsula. The butterfly was named by the naturalist Alfred R. Wallace in 1855, after James of Sarawak, the Rajah of Sarawak.

Rajah Brooke's Birdwing by garnet_mermaid

The wings of the male butterflies are black and each forewing has seven teeth-shaped electric-green markings (the smaller hindwings are also black with green markings). The head is bright red and the body is black with red markings. The wings of the female butterflies are browner with prominent white flashes at the tips of the forewings and at the base of the hindwings. The larval host plant is Aristolochia foveolata. Adults sip fruit juices and flower nectar. Classification: Family Papillonidae, Subfamily Papilloninae.

Rajah Brooke's Birdwing is a protected species, listed under Appendix II of CITES

The butterfly is the national butterfly of Malaysia.

Southern Birdwing

Southern Birdwing, Troides minos by aathiraperinchery

The Southern Birdwing (Troides Minos) is a large and striking Swallowtail butterfly endemic to Peninsular India. With a wingspan of 140-190mm, it is the largest butterfly found in southern India.

It was earlier considered a subspecies of the Common Birdwing (Troides helena) but is now recognised as a valid species.

The species is more common in the Western Ghats, which is a biodiversity hotspot with a high degree of endemism in many taxa. It is much sought after by collectors and is a highlight of many butterfly-tours in the Western Ghats.

Southern Birdwing by AnoopAA

Anise Swallowtail

Anise Swallowtail by dbullens

The Anise Swallowtail, Papilio zelicaon, is a common swallowtail butterfly of western North America. Both the upper and lower sides of its wings are black, but the upper wing has a broad yellow stripe across it, which gives the butterfly an overall yellow appearance. There are striking blue spots on the rear edge of the rear wing, and the characteristic tails of the swallowtails. Its wingspan is 7-9 cm. Its body is somewhat shorter than the rather similar Western Tiger Swallowtail, with which its range overlaps; it also lacks the black stripes, converging toward the tail, of the latter. There is a somewhat darker subspecies, Papilio zelicaon nitra, which is rare throughout the range, though somewhat more often found at lower elvations.

Black Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) by gracie328

The Black Swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes, also called the American or parsnip swallowtail is a butterfly found throughout much of North America. It is the state butterfly of Oklahoma. There is an extremely similar-appearing species, Papilio joanae that occurs in the Ozark Mountains region, but it appears to be closely related to Papilio machaon, rather than polyxenes.

The Black Swallowtail has a wingspan of 3 1/4 inches to 4 1/4 inches (8 to 11 centimeters). The upper surface of the wings is mostly black. On the inner edge of hindwing is a black spot centered in larger orange spot. A male of this species has a yellow band near edge of wings; a female has row of yellow spots. The hindwing of the female has an iridescent blue band.

In the Southwest USA, yellow forms predominate in the subspecies Papilio polyxenes coloro.

After mating, small, yellow eggs are laid, typically on garden plants from the carrot family, including dill, fennel and parsley.They are also found eating bishop's weed. First instar larvae grow to about 1.5 cm (0.6 inch) long, resemble bird droppings and are dark purple-brown with a white band in the middle and have spikes, with a light brown-orange ring at the base of each of the spikes in the dark region (spikes are white on the white band). Later instars grow to about 5 cm (2 inches) and are yellow-white and black banded with yellow spots around every second black band. They have short, black spikes around some of the black bands, although these tend to disappear as the larva nears pupation.

Black Swallowtail by Stylurus

The Black Swallowtail Caterpillar has an orange "forked gland", called the osmeterium. When in danger the osmeterium, which looks like a snake's tongue, everts and releases a foul smell to repel predators.

The Black Swallowtail pupae may be green or brown, but not depending on its surroundings or what it has pupated on. The color of the chrysalis is determined by a local genetic balance which ensures that majority of pupae will blend in.

Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio canadensis)

Canadian Tiger Swallowtail by VicSedford

The Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio canadensis) is a species of the Papilionidae family. It was once classified as a subspecies of Papilio glaucus.

Canadian Tiger Swallowtail by outdoors2magic

Adult

The wingspan of this particular species is 67 to 80 mm long. There are two adult morphs yellow and black, although the black form is considered quite rare. This species is very similar to the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and has a noticeably smaller wingspan. Unlike the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail the yellow marginal band is continuous. The hindwing has many orange scales, on both morphs. This species has also been known to be hybridized with both the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and Western Tiger Swallowtail even if this is extremely rare.

Caterpillar

A large green caterpillar with an enlarged head. It has 4 yellow dots and 2 false eyes with bluish centers. A profile view of this caterpillar is similar with that of a snake-like figure. The immature larvae are brown and white to mimic bird droppings, this mimicry makes it unappealing to predators.