September Swallowtails

The Zebra Swallowtail (Protographium marcellus) is closely associated with pawpaws and rarely found far from these trees.  For that reason we rarely see this butterfly in urban areas of Central Florida.  However, this week, several individuals of the species have visited my semi-rural Debary gardens.

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The butterfly's wings are greenish-white with bold black stripes and borders.  The wingspan is 2.5 to 4 inches.  A pair of swordlike tails extend from the hindwings.  Note that in some of these images one of the individuals has lost one of its sword tails to a predator.

The inner margin of the hindwing has two blue spots on the corner and a red spot near the body.  A prominent red stripe runs along the middle of the ventral hindwing.  Because it is late summer these butterflies have appeared in a form that is larger, with broader black stripes and longer black tails with white edges.  In springtime the form would be smaller, more white and with shorter tails.

After a lot of frenetic flight this individual found a Prunus serotina (Florida Black Cherry Tree) on which to rest.

Caterpillars of this species are known to be cannibalistic so the females lay a single egg on pawpaw leaves or on the tree trunks.  They try to keep their eggs far enough apart so that the caterpillars don't eat one another.  Netted Pawpaws shrubs (Asiminia reticulata) were once abundant in Central Florida but because they occur in pine and scrubby flatwoods and sandhills, they have been largely removed for development.  Finding a larger Pawpaw like (Asimina triloba) is increasingly difficult.

Much more common in the Central Florida garden are these Tiger Swallowtail butterflies (Papilio glaucus).  One might be lucky enough to see a couple of this species every day during peak flight season in late summer.  This butterfly is less specialized when it comes to host plant species and will lay eggs on Magnolia, Sweet Bay, and Black Cherry which are all abundant, despite development, in Central Florida.

Sexes of the Zebra Swallowtail are similar.  In Florida you may see these butterflies September to December along woodland edges, forest margins, or sandhill scrub areas, but they are increasingly rare.

The flight of Zebra Swallowtail adults is low, quick, and highly erratic making photographing difficult.  Waiting for them to light on a garden flower is your best bet to get an image, however, they do not rest long. 

More September Butterflies 

The Eastern Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) prefers the abundant purple flowers of the non-native periwinkle.  Their host plant are the very common wetlands species in the carrot family (Apiaceae) including water hemlock, celery, parsley, and sweet fennel.

Below, the Eastern Black Swallowtail will also feed off of non-native claredendron species like this naturalized Japanese Glorybower (Clerodendrum japonicum).  It pays not to be too picky.

Also abundant are these giant swallowtail butterflies that prefer zinnia.  The host plant of this species was once citrus but as most Florida citrus is now dead or dying from huanglongbing virus (citrus greening) they will also lay eggs on most exotic Rutaceae including gasplant and sapote.  Locally they thrive using Hercules-club as host (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis).

My garden is full of zinnia and cosmos this season.  Sunflowers have again been difficult due to extreme heat and long dry periods.

Pollination Workhorses:  The Skippers

Small skipper butterflies are the real workhorses of the Florida garden when it comes to pollination.  For all the showy swallowtails there are ten times as many tiny skippers, working tirelessly to keep the flowers coming.  Above a Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus).

Below:  a Silver-Spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus).

Below:  A Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) on cosmos.

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