(These thickets are visible on the C & O Canal’s billy goat trail for interested hikers. Pawpaw fruits (the largest native fruit indigenous to the Americas) are green in color, custard-like in texture but do not keep well, so they aren’t a commercial grocery item. Since the fruit and plant are so unusual, many gardeners may not be eager to plant pawpaw thickets (or grafted specimens) in their yard. Zebra Swallowtails have the same relationship to Asimina species as the Monarch has to Milkweed. The District of Columbia’s (official) insect, the Zebra Swallowtail ( Eurytides marcellus) host plant is the Pawpaw. After consultation, instead of the larger Tulip tree, there are now twin (smaller) Pawpaw ( Asimina triloba) trees framing a rain garden. In addition to the hope of edible fruit (soon!) as consolation, the Pawpaw does host *a* swallowtail butterfly’s larvae. After having my property surveyed, I was looking forward to a combined host plant and shade tree, since the Tulip tree was on the list of possible tree options.Īlas, the size of my yard meant I needed to have smaller specimens. The chrysalis hibernates in areas of its range with cold winters.By Ltshears (Own work), via Wikimedia CommonsHaving a desire to see more Tiger Swallowtails ( Papilio glaucus), I looked up the host plants:ĭC’s RiverSmart program provides incentives for residents to establish conservation practices on their property, including rain gardens and shade trees. Three small horns project from the head and thorax. The chrysalis is either green or brown, and is more compact compared to chrysalids in the genus Papilio. The larva has a yellow, foul-smelling, forked gland called an osmeterium which it will use to deter predators, especially spiders and ants. In both forms, between the swollen thorax and the abdomen, there is a yellow, black, and bluish-white band. The more common form is green with yellow and white transverse stripes the rarer form is black and banded with white and orange.
Young caterpillars are black with lighter colored transverse stripes. Its larval food is the Pawpaw (Asimina triloba).
The round egg is pale green, later turning orange brown. The Zebra Swallowtail is an uncommon stray in Wisconsin, and may be looked for in the southern counties. Default sorting, Sort by popularity, Sort by average rating, Sort by latest. Since the caterpillars are cannibalistic, females lay their eggs singly on pawpaw leaves or on the tree trunks. Home / Products tagged Zebra Swallowtail. Other food sources include rotting fruit and urine. These nutrients aid the male in reproduction. Males participate in a behavior known as puddling, in which individuals congregate on sand, gravel, or moist soil to obtain salts and amino acids. Both males and females avidly visit flowers, including species from the families Apocynaceae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, Lythraceae, Polemoniaceae, and Rosaceae.
Females will fly slowly when searching for suitable host plants. They usually fly 0.5 to 1.8 meters (2 to 6 ft) above the ground. Males will patrol near host plants in search of females, flying swiftly and directly. It has two broods in the north and three to four in the south, with the first brood being the most numerous. Primarily Sagebrush (Artemisia) species, including Arctic wormwood and wild tarragon. Damp wildflower meadows, fens, tundras, forests, mountains, marshes, grasslands, hilltops, and several other temperate areas. The zebra swallowtail can be seen from late March to August in the northern portion of its range and from February to December in the southern portion. Primarily in most of Europe and Asia, but can also be found in Canada, Alaska, and California. Summer forms are larger, have broader black stripes, and longer, black tails with white edges. This image of Zebra swallowtail butterfly by Odilon Dimier/PhotoAlto - Zen Shui is available for licensing today. Spring forms are smaller, more white, and have short, black tails with white tips. marcellus has two seasonal forms, one occurring in the spring and the other in the summer. A red stripe runs along the middle of the ventral hindwing. The inner margin of the hindwing has two blue spots on the corner and a red spot near the body.
A pair of swordlike tails extend from the hindwings. The Zebra Swallowtail is also known by the name(s) of: Kite Swallowtail, The Ajax, Pawpaw Butterfly, Black-barred Swallowtail. The triangular wings are white to greenish white with black longitudinal stripes. The zebra swallowtail has a wingspan of 6.4 to 10.4 cm (2.5 to 4.1 in).