#papilionini

📍 Location: Durham, North Carolina 🗓 Date: July 28, 2023 🐾 Media: Image 🌿 Species: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) 📝 Notes: Large, distinctive swallowtail butterfly commonly found in forests, woodland edges, parks, and gardens. Males are typically bright yellow with black tiger-like stripes, while females may be yellow or darker “black morph” form depending on region.

Frequently seen flying along tree lines, roadsides, and near flowering plants where adults feed on nectar. Caterpillars feed on a variety of host trees including tulip tree, wild cherry, and ash.

Photos from a failed raising

I collected this specimen off our lemon tree. I’m not entirely sure how it died, but it’s possible disease got the better of it.

Photos of the corpse here

This species is often called the Orchard Swallowtail, as they feed on trees in the Citrus genus (lemons, oranges, tangerines, etc.). There’s a few swallowtail butterfly caterpillars that feed on Citrus, but this species is the most common sight for me.

Papilio aegeus

Papilio polyxenes asterius / Black Swallowtail

Decay of a Dead Caterpillar

Not the most pleasant post, but I was curious to see what would become of the body.

Photos of the live specimen here

The caterpillar suffered all the symptoms of disease that I am aware of. Sudden diarrhea, weakness, eventually leading to dropping dead completely. Caterpillars are highly susceptible to disease, so washing your hands thoroughly is important.

The corpse turned completely black, and developed a hole near the rear of the caterpillar. I’m not sure why this hole appeared.

Papilio aegeus