North American Butterflies and Moths List

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Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of Texas

Ruby-spotted Swallowtail (Papilio anchisiades)
JPG -- species photo

Ruby-spotted Swallowtail (Papilio anchisiades Esper)

Wing span: 2 3/4 - 4 inches (7 - 10 cm).

Identification: Large and black with no tails. Female's upper forewing cell has diffuse white patch; hindwing has postmedian pink patch.

Life history: Females lay eggs in groups on host plant leaves. Caterpillars rest in clusters on host plant during the day and feed at night; they all feed and molt at the same time.

Flight: Several from May-October.

Caterpillar hosts: Trees in the citrus (Rutaceae) family including Citrus, Casimiroa, and Zanthoxylum species.

Adult food: Flower nectar.

Habitat: Lowland tropical forests, citrus groves, gardens.

Range: From south Texas south to Argentina. A rare stray to Kansas, southeast Arizona, and west Texas.

Conservation: Not usually required. Status should be determined in south Texas (may be extirpated).

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:


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.

     Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. 327 pages, 50 color

     plates.



Opler, P. A. and V. Malikul. 1992. A field guide to eastern butterflies.

     Peterson field guide #4. Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston. 396 pages, 48

     color plates.



Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press,

     Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates.

Author: Jane M. Struttmann

State and Regional References:


Neck, R.W. 1996. A Field Guide to Butterflies of Texas. Gulf Publishing Co., 

     Houston, Texas.



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. 



Tilden, J.W. and A.C. Smith. 1986. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies. 

     Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.

     

Tveten, J. and Tveten, G.  1996.  Butterflies of Houston & Southeast Texas.

     Univ. of Texas Press, Austin, TX.  292 pp.

     

Ruby-spotted Swallowtail (Papilio anchisiades)
distribution map
map legend

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