Pipevine Butterfly

The butterfly is common in open habitats and gardens, and produces 2-4 broods per year.

How do you identify pipevine?

A single row of seven orange spots and small pale, cream dots are found at the edge of the wing embedded in the blue section. This is the pipevine swallowtail's most identifiable characteristic. Adult butterflies feed off of floral nectar and often visit a different set of plants than the leaf-eating caterpillars.

Is pipevine swallowtail native to Florida?

HABITAT. The Pipevine swallowtail spans from southern Connecticut to Central Florida, west to Arizona and south into Mexico.

How big is a pipevine swallowtail?

Butterfly: Wingspan: 2 - 3 inches (7.0-8.6 cm). Pipevine Swallowtails are large black butterflies with fairly short hindwing tails. The top surface is black with striking blue or blue-green iridescence on the hindwings. Females have less iridescence.

What is the rarest butterfly on earth?

They are the bay checkerspot, Fender's blue, crystal skipper, the Miami blue, Saint Francis' satyr, and the rarest butterfly in the world, the Schaus swallowtail, whose habitat is sadly found in the sprawling metropolis of Miami. Of all six species together, only about 3,000 remain.

Can you touch a Pipevine Swallowtail?

"All parts of the pipevine plant, including the seed pods, are toxic to humans.

Are pipevine butterflies poisonous?

Butterfly expert Art Shapiro, distinguished professor in the UC Davis Department of Evolution and Ecology, has seen lots of Pipevine Swallowtails (Battus philenor) already this year. "There are plenty," he said today. "Don't eat 'em; they're quite poisonous." Both the caterpillar and the adult are poisonous.

Are pipevine swallowtails poisonous?

The adults are also poisonous, and the female passes some of the chemicals on to the eggs, protecting them from predators as well. The pipevine swallowtail butterfly also occurs across the eastern and southern portions of the U.S. and into Central America, where the caterpillars feed on closely related plants.

What plants attract pipevine swallowtails?

Pink and purple flowers (e.g., phlox [Phlox species], ironweed [Vernonia species], and thistles [Cirsium species]) are particularly attractive to pipevine swallowtails (Scott 1986).

What does a Pipevine Swallowtail turn into?

Like many insects, California pipevine swallowtails display complete metamorphosis: the egg, an active and hungry caterpillar stage, a pupal stage, and the final adult stage as a butterfly.

Is pipevine invasive?

This species does not appear on any state or national invasive species lists.

Is pipevine a perennial?

Dutchman's pipevines are perennial vines with dark green leaves shaped like hearts that feed the beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. They are an East Coast native. They are also known as Aristolochia durior.

Can pipevine grow in shade?

Dutchman's pipe thrives in rich, moist, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Plant seeds outdoors as soon as the soil warms in spring. Site this fast-growing vine at the base of a sturdy climbing structure like a well-anchored trellis, a pergola, or even a chain-link fence.

Can you touch a swallowtail caterpillar?

Most caterpillars are perfectly safe to handle. Painted lady and swallowtail caterpillars are common examples. Even the monarch butterfly caterpillar, though toxic if eaten, does nothing more than tickle you when held.

How do you attract pipevine swallowtails?

If you'd like to attract swallowtails to your garden, the two most important factors to consider are providing host plants for caterpillars and nectar plants for adults. Host plants are specific plants that butterflies lay their eggs on.

Is there a vampire butterfly?

Some butterflies don't only look like horror movie stars, but are horrors in themselves. Milkweed butterflies (Danainae) — the same subfamily that includes the regal monarch — are vampiric cannibals that use clawed feet to tear open their own caterpillars and mercilessly suck the guts out of them.

What butterfly is born without a mouth?

The eye-catching critter is easily recognizable because of its wings. But that's not the luna moth's only interesting feature. The insect doesn't have a mouth or a digestive system. That's because it only lives for about a week after leaving the cocoon, and it doesn't ever eat.

Is there a real blue butterfly?

The blue morpho is among the largest butterflies in the world, with wings spanning from five to eight inches. Their vivid, iridescent blue coloring is a result of the microscopic scales on the backs of their wings, which reflect light.

Do swallowtail butterflies bite?

They can't hurt you at all they don't even have teeth. They don't even have mouths.

Should I remove swallowtail caterpillar?

If you see one in your garden, I encourage you to let it eat whichever plant it's on! You can also (gently) move a swallowtail caterpillar on dill to another host plant, though they don't like to be moved when they're ready to molt.