Location: Applewood, Golden, Colorado
July 25, 2011
Daniel,
Thank you so much for the speedy reply. It really made Hannah’s day!
Here is the drawing that she made to save for her bug journal.
We catch, study and release a lot of Swallow Tail Butterflies in our back yard too (see second pic). Is there a similar trick to determining the sex of that species?
Thanks again,
Charley
Two Tailed Swallowtail
Hi again Charley and Hannah,
This is a male Two Tailed Swallowtail, Papilio multicaudata. According to bugGuide: “Upper surface of male forewing with narrow black stripes. Each hindwing has 2 tails.(1) If abdomen is visible, male claspers are obvious as a yellow segment at the tip, beyond the black stripe. Females often have broader black stripes, and more blue on the upperside.“ The narrower stripes and limited blue indicate that this is a male.
black butterfly
Location: Eau Claire, Wis.
July 24, 2011 5:03 pm
I had quite a few minutes in my garden today, July 24, 2011, with this beauty. It was very large as far as butterflies go in West Central Wis. perhaps four or five inches. While it was very interested in my garden it also seemed interested in me and for a while, as I hoped and waited, it seemed it would land on me, circling around. Flitting from plant to plant, it never stayed long on one. Although it has a ragged wing it seemed to be doing fine. Lovely blue spots one the top of wings with one orange spot each in the center on the inner edge. The undersides, however, have yellow spots. When it landed it liked to have its wings outstretched. I hope it visits again.
Signature: gail from Wisconsin
Black Swallowtail
Hi Gail,
There are several large dark swallowtail butterflies in your area, and this individual is a female Black Swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes. The male does not hae the blue markings on the hind wings which you can see in this photo from our archives.
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