Discovering His Creation: Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio troilus)

Friday, August 29, 2014

Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio troilus)

Maybe you never saw this butterfly before. It's only found in the Eastern United States and Southern Ontario. Occasionally they may stray as far west as Colorado, north to North Dakota and as far south as Cuba. There are two subspecies and Papilio toilus ilioneus is said to be restricted to the Southern coastal plain including the Florida Peninsula. Males of the Spicebush Swallow tail (Papilio troilus) have a trademark blue-green half moon splotch on the hind wings while the females have a bright blue splotch. The males seemed to love the mimosa trees this year at our house but hard to capture good photos as high up as they were. Sometimes I would follow butterflies through the woods for a while but they were not still and flew away out of my sight usually. The larvae of the Spicebush Swallowtail feed on leaves of aromatic shrubs and trees. The Sassafras tree is one of those and I've noticed there are a good many in this area where I am in Alabama. Their name comes from the shrub Spicebush (Lindera Benzoin) which is another one of their favorite food. I'm not sure if there are any of those near where I am but there could be. Remember this is a new world for me. I'm discovering a new world of God's creation. I hope you'll join me and discover His creation also.