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Eastern Black Swallowtail (Male)

Papilio polyxenes

Photo by AshleyAkers
Published on Project Noah
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40.4173, -82.9071

Field Notes

Description:

Is this Butterfly different from an Eatern Black Swallowtail? The yellow pattern looks a little different than of the other pictures I have of one.

Notes:

Found unable to fly in a parking lot.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (3)
AshleyAkers
wow thats really cool never would have guessed.Thank you both!
KristenGilpin
Your particular Black swallowtail is a male. Males have a wider band of yellow than females while females display more blue on their lower wings. The females mimic the look of distasteful Pipevine Swallowtails and gains protection for female butterflies to mate and lay their eggs without being eaten.
florida33girl
Looks like an Eastern Black. Here are some tips on how to tell it apart from similar species: http://myfloridabackyard.blogspot.com/2010/07/if-you-want-to-know-who-we-are.html

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Photographed
PublishedJuly 18, 2011

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