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Geographic range:
Nearctic, Neotropical: Papilio multicaudata
ranges from E. British Columbia and E. Washington along Canadian borders
to Dakotas, south to Oklahoma, Texas and Baja California through Mexico
to Guatemala.
Physical characteristics:
Large (86 -130 mm) butterfly with 2 distinctive tails on each
wing. Yellow color with black stripes. HW edge above and below lined
with bright blue patches. Black border spotted with yellow and orange.
Between border -spots each wing points outward in a series of partial
tails, and 1 long and 1 medium tail. Females have broader stripes,
more blue on HW and orange cast.
Food habits: The larva feed on laurels
(Lauraceae). Adults collect nectar from thistles, milkweeds, California
buckeye, lilac, and many others.
Reproduction:
Males patrol stream courses or city streets for receptive females.
Eggs are laid singly on leaves of host plant. Caterpillars eat leaves
and rest on silken mats in shelters of curled leaves. Eggs are of
yellow -green color, caterpillars posses yellow, black -rimmed eyespots
on black -banded hump, which becomes reddish before pupating.
Habitat: Foothill slopes and
canyons, moist valleys, streamside, woodlands, parks, roadsides, suburbs,
and cities.
Conservation:
No special status. |
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