Papilio polyxenes
Black Swallowtail
Female mimics Pipevine Swallowtail
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Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) Class Insecta (Insects) Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths) Superfamily Papilionoidea (Butterflies (excluding skippers)) Family Papilionidae (Swallowtails, Parnassians) Subfamily Papilioninae Tribe Papilionini (Fluted Swallowtails) Genus Papilio Species polyxenes (Black Swallowtail) Fabricius, 1775 |
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BEHAVIORAL NOTES
- Adults constantly flutter while feeding.
- Females search out plants of the parsley family on which to lay eggs. Females may be seen flying low over vegetation, ignoring flowers, but testing green leaves with their feet for the presence of molecules given off by parsley family plants. You might then say butterflies "taste" with their feet.