North American Butterflies and Moths List

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The Registry of Nature Habitats

U.S. Geological Survey


Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of Northern Mexico

Garamus Swallowtail (Papilio garamus)

Garamus Swallowtail (Papilio garamus Geyer)

Wing span: 5-7 inches (12-15 cm).

Identification: Large black swallowtail with spatulate tails and a distinct central yellow band on each wing.

Life history: Not reported.

Flight: February to November.

Caterpillar hosts: Avocado and magnolia.

Adult food: Wild fuchsia in Costa Rica.

Habitat: City gardens, cloud forests.

Range: Central Mexico south to Costa Rica. Rare stray to Texas.

Conservation: None noted.

The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G4,G5

Management needs: Not needed for rare stray.

References:


Beutelspacher, C. R.  1984.  Mariposas de Mexico Fasciculo I.  La Prensa Medica 

     Mexicana, S. A.  171 pages, 20 color plates.  

     

DeVries, P. J.  1987.  The Butterflies of Costa Rica and their Natural History, 

     Vol. 1.  Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J. 327 pages.     

     

Llorente-Bousquets, J. E., L. Onate-Ocana, A. Luis-Martinez, and I. 

     Vargez-Fernandez.  1999.  Papilionidae y Pieridae de Mexico: distribucion 

     geografica e ilustracion.  Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 

     CONABIO, Mexico D.F., 226 pp.



Tyler, H. A., K. S. Brown Jr. and K. H. Wilson.  1994.  Swallowtail butterflies 

     of the Americas.  Scientific Publishers, Inc., Gainesville.  376 pages, 

     100 color plates.     

Author: Paul A. Opler

State and Regional References:


Opler, Paul A. 1999. Peterson Field Guide to Western Butterflies, revised 

     edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.



Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western USA Butterflies. 

     Privately published, Denver, Colo.

Garamus Swallowtail (Papilio garamus)
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