Spicebush Swallowtail

Here's a Spicebush Swallowtail that was living near my apartment. This is one of our black swallowtail butterflies that are not the Black Swallowtail. Here's a good article on distinguishing our most common  swallowtails. If you don't remember all of that, don't worry. I suspect that most of these guys would be flattered if you merely recognize them as swallowtail butterflies.

The Spicebush Swallowtail is actually easier to identify with the wings up. There you'll see a row of orange spots interrupted by a blue swoosh mark; no other similar-looking butterfly has that blue swoosh.

From this angle, I'd look at the row of yellow spots at the edge of the wing. Black Swallowtails would have 2 rows. If this were a dark morph Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, even this row of spots would be virtually missing. And a Pipevine Swallowtail wouldn't have those spots at all.

The host plant for their caterpillars is - wait for it - the Spicebush. Sometimes these names actually do make sense.

August 16, 2020 at Finderne, NJ



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