Papilio glaucus
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
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 glaucus (Eastern Tiger Swallowtail) Linnaeus, 1758 |
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Eggs and Larval Instars
(on Sweetbay Magnolias)
2nd Instar - 2007
Larva feeds on Sweetbay Magnolia leaves
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2009
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2010
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BEHAVIORAL NOTE, Larvae:
Found on the ground below a sweet bay magnolia, this leaf indicates to a human observer the presence of a tiger swallowtail caterpillar on the shrub. The partly eaten leaf has been removed from the shrub by a butterfly larva chewing through the petiole, or leafstalk.
It has been theorized that predatory birds learn to associate partly eaten leaves on a tree or shrub with the presence of caterpillars, and so caterpillars that detach such leaves have a better chance of surviving. But what is there to keep birds from learning to associate similar leaves on the ground with caterpillars on the shrub?
It has been theorized that predatory birds learn to associate partly eaten leaves on a tree or shrub with the presence of caterpillars, and so caterpillars that detach such leaves have a better chance of surviving. But what is there to keep birds from learning to associate similar leaves on the ground with caterpillars on the shrub?