North American Butterflies and Moths List

The definitive website on wildbirds & nature

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Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of California

Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon)

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Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon Lucas)

Wing span: 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 inches (6.4 - 9 cm).

Identification: Upper surface of wings creamy white with black stripes. Front wing is narrow and pointed; tail of hindwing is long, slender and twisted.

Life history: Males perch and patrol for receptive females. Females lay eggs singly on host plant leaves. Caterpillars feed on leaves and rest on silken mats in shelters of curled leaves. Pupae hibernate.

Flight: One flight from April-July, many flights in southern California from March-August.

Caterpillar hosts: Trees and shrubs in the Rosaceae, Rhamnaceae and Betulaceae families including cherry (Prunus emarginata), coffee-berry (Rhamnus californica), and ash (Fraxinus spp.).

Adult food: Flower nectar including California buckeye, yerba santa, and wallflower.

Habitat: Foothills, open woodlands, chaparral, streamsides.

Range: British Columbia east to Montana, south to New Mexico. California and Baja California.

Conservation: Not usually required.

Management needs: None noted.

The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.

References:

Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press,
     Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates.

Tilden, J. W. 1986. A field guide to western butterflies.  Houghton-Mifflin Co.,
     Boston, Mass. 370 pages, 23 color plates.

Author: Jane M. Struttmann

State and Regional References:

Brown, J.W., Real, H.G., and D.K. Faulkner. 1992. Butterflies of Baja 
     California. Lepidoptera Research Foundation, Beverly Hills, Calif.

Comstock, J.A. 1927. Butterflies of California. Privately published, Los 
     Angeles, Calif. [Facsimile available from 	Entomological Reprint 
     Specialists, Los Angeles, Calif.]

Dameron, W. 1997. Searching for butterflies in southern California.
     Flutterby Press, Los Angeles, Calif.

Emmel, T.C. Editor. 1998. Systematics of western North American butterflies.
     Mariposa Press, Gainesville, Florida.

Emmel, T. C. and J. F. Emmel. 1973. The Butterflies of Southern California. 
     Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Science Series No. 26.

Garth, J.S. and J.W. Tilden. 1986. California Butterflies.  California Natural
     History Guide 51. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los 
     Angeles.
     
Langston, R.L. 1981. The Rhopalocera of Santa Cruz Island, California. Journal
     of Research on the Lepidoptera 18: 24-35.     

Miller, Scott E. 1985. Butterflies of the Califorenia Channel Islands. Journal
     of the Research on the Lepidoptera 23: 282-296.     

Opler, Paul A. 1999. Peterson Field Guide to Western Butterflies, revised 
     edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.

Orsak, L.J. 1977. The Butterflies of Orange County, California. Museum of 
     Systematic Biology, University of california, Irvine.

Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western USA Butterflies. 
     Privately published, Denver, Colo.

Steiner, J. 1990. Bay Area Butterflies: The Distribution and Natural History 
     of San Francisco Region Rhopalocera. Hayward, Calif.: Hayward State 
     University, Masters Thesis.

Tilden, J.W. and A.C. Smith. 1986. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies. 
     Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.

Tilden, J.W. 1965. Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay Region. California 
     Natural History Guide 12. University of California Press, Berkeley and 
     Los Angeles.

Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon)

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