Stats

Lifespan: A few weeks
Size: Large
Diet: Herbivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: North America
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Warning Colors
Status: Common

About

The Pipevine Swallowtail is a large black butterfly with striking iridescent blue-green hindwings that shimmer in sunlight. Larvae feed exclusively on pipevine plants, sequestering toxic aristolochic acids that make both caterpillars and adults unpalatable to predators throughout their lives.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
2.
caterpillar
A voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
3.
chrysalis
A chrysalis hangs sealed and still while the body remodels into a winged adult.
4.
butterfly
A winged adult with full scales and coloration, ready to fly and mate.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Battus
Species: Battus philenor