The marvelous Giant Swallowtail

[trehopr1]

I have really grown in fondness for this species as of late. It is truely a magnificent and regal species among Eastern North American butterflies. It is generally found in our Southern states and in particular Florida where it's larvae is considered a pest at times by citrus growers. Over much time it has found its way up the Mississippi valley where another favored food plant known as "prickly ash" as well as "wafer ash" may be found in places.
Here in Illinois it may be found in 6-8 of our far Western counties; along with another 4-5 counties reporting strays. The species is also found in Wisconsin and Minnesota however, the further North one goes the fewer counties it shows up in.
Recently, I found a locale located about 45 min. from my home which apparently has enough prickly ash or what have you present to support the species. This has been very exciting news for me as Papilio cresphontes has long remained the most difficult of our 6 species of swallowtails to find here in my state.
These large butterflies seem to be a strong flying canopy dwelling species of broadleaf forests up north here. By my own observations they just seem to enjoy soaring and flapping between trees and sunlit openings -- looking for mates. I have observed them resting with outstretched wings on leaves up high and far out of reach. Only, when the butterfly is hungry and must re-fuel is it vulnerable to capture. Otherwise, you might as well be trying to catch a birdwing with your 4 foot net. I would also add that one must very "gingerly" sweep the butterfly from it's flower perch to avoid knocking off one of those lovely tails. Sometimes, I have found tails still come off inexplicably !
I love the way in which Papilionids "dance" about the top of a flower with their long delicate legs. When I have come across specimens which are worn, missing tails, or bird attacked I simply observe them going about their daily life. I also release those which I have knocked a tail off of.
Thus far, in 4 outings I have captured/kept 12, released 3 for tail loss, and sighted another 14 which I never had a chance at. I know I will endeavor to visit this species again next year to once again enjoy it's company.

[Paul K]

Indeed it is very impressive butterfly and largest one in North America ( at least in north part of ).
This year in Ontario I have seen about 15 of them, when other years one or two.
It very reminds me tropical butterflies when feeding on flowers or flying by.
Yesterday I went 40km west of Toronto to mixed deciduous forest and found 4 P.cresphontes, 2 females and 2 males feeding on flowers.
This species is considered rare in southern Ontario.

[trehopr1]

Splendid photographs Paul ! Happy to hear that you too have had occasion to meet P. cresphontes this summer. I did'nt know it ranged as far north as southern Ontario. Thought it petered out in Minnesota. Birds certainly seem to take an interest in these butterflies judging by how many I've seen thus far with bird attacks.
Wonder if the citrus feeding cresphontes of Florida are considered dis-tasteful by most birds? This seems to be a bumper year in sighting this species as other members like Jshuey have commented as well on it's enhanced presence in the region.

[callosamialover]

Great photos! I live in Minnesota, and have only once seen one of these. This is my most wanted species, and can never attract one to my gardens. I keep telling myself to be paitent but its not seeming to ever come around.

[Paul K]

Today another female of P.cresphontes near Toronto.
I think my iPhone 5 camera is getting old and photos are really of bad quality, time to upgrade I guess.

[trehopr1]

I was just out 2 days ago on the 30th Paul looking once again to find this species. I went to my locale for the 5th and final time this year and was rewarded in seeing 2 more specimens on the wing however, both were fairly well damaged beyond keeping. The cycle thus has run it's coarse and I can only look forward to next year. It did shape up into a very good year for this butterfly species (of which I acquired 13 specimens); as well as a delightful summer in general.

[mothman27]

Here in northern Indiana they are not common but I do see them every year. I visit a location in Steuben Co. where they are fairly plentiful, I have even seen larvae there feeding on Prickly ash.

[trehopr1]

You are a very fortune young man in having this species available to you (and in numbers) ! During my youthful years of "small game hunting" as I like to call it I didn't even know the species existed in my state. A chance encounter with a stray near Argonne National Laboratories (Dupage Co./ILL.) when I was in my mid-20's; set me on a mission to find a stable locale where it could be collected.
It took me another 20 years to finally find a locale that seemed to support them somewhat; although their numbers were always inconsistent (in terms of sightings). It was only this past summer of 2017 that the species had a good year and I hit my spot running (repeatedly) to acquire choice specimens. I did manage to secure myself 13 specimens in total (of which 7 or 8) were perfect or nearly so. Released another 3 due to knocking their tail(s) off while catching them; and still sighted another 16 that I never had a chance at. What a year ! !
Noticed you have yours papered. They would have been on my boards before they ever dried out. They would have taken presidence over anything else in terms of preparation.
As a side note always try to prepare your specimens up while they are fresh if at all possible. They are never any better than when they are still fresh. Even the best relaxing container or method will never produce the same worry free results. A fair number of Nymphalid and Pierid species of butterflies (for example) also tend to exude waste products after death (while papered) so stains occur on the wings which generally cannot be removed. Also, butterfly and moth (females) tend to look better when pinned fresh as their egg-laden abdomens will look "plump" as opposed to looking "squashed" if they have been papered.
These things I mention are just personal "peeves" of mine which can both be avoided by not papering up things. Ever notice how the BEST looking specimens of Saturniidae are the ones fresh pinned; not the ones papered. Papering up things is to me a necessary evil at times but, should be avoided if possible. Too much papering just means your over-collecting which results in material either never getting prepared or getting it prepared many years down the road.... I've made this mistake myself.

[mothman27]

Thank you! I guess you are right, I never thought it was too big of a deal because I always remembered how they are "Pests" in Florida. 

As for papering, I completely agree with you. It happens that those are for a trade. Someone requested that species in particular so I knew when I caught them they would be papered. If they were for me I would have pinned them soon after. Not only do they have the look of fresh specimens it saves all the time of writing data on envelope and re-hydrating later on. It is remarkable that it is fairly obvious which specimens were pinned fresh and which were papered first. I was very busy this past summer so I was only able visit that place once. This also let to more papering than pinning . As for priority, I do usually give priority to small moths which are very difficult to relax, pin and have look okay.

On a different topic, has anyone noticed how Giant Leopard moths (Hypercompe scribonia) seem to extrude an orange liquid when disturbed? I have had this happen with three specimens, one was a perfect female that emerged from a pupa I found. I tried to get rid of it but I didn't find a solution. I soaked it in acetone but this seemed to dry the wings out and they split in a couple places . Also it is normal for the abdomens to loose most of their color?
ou can see the discoloration in the middle of the wing.
Thanks,
Tim

[exoticimports]

In western NY state, they were only seen (rarely) south of Buffalo. Then, about six years ago, they "invaded" east, being seen in lakeshore counties as far east (at least) as Onandaga County. Last year they were quite common, though this year not so much. They are definitely breeding in Western/ Upstate NY.

Before anyone screams global warming, the winter before last was brutal, with ice on the bays until early April, and I saw -33C one morning, which is the lowest I've ever seen. And this year was perfect for insects, but of all the different species, the Giant seems to be the only population that dropped.

Chuck

[trehopr1]

Well Tim, perhaps crop growers in Florida consider this species a pest (at times) which might be understandable to an extent; however where you and I live (here in the Midwest states) it is the largest and probably the most localized of all our swallowtails available to us. I have collected all 6 species here in Illinois and it was the toughest of the lot to find in any numbers. In terms of it's magnificence I personally feel that only the (light phase) female of the Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) exceeds it. The amount of light blue on a female Tiger's hind wings is nothing short of stunning in combination with all that yellow AND tiger stripes to boot !
On your leopard moth question I can only say the following: getting "nice" Arctiidae in a collection is only easy when you breed them in numbers. Otherwise, you are left with collecting repeated wild examples until you eventually get some good ones. I've collected the Leopard Moth in Southern Illinois a number of times over several years and have only 3 or 4 truely nice examples out of the dozen or so that I found. I trashed the rest over time because like you they either got "stained" wings from the alkaloids in their bodies or they simply greased up badly on me (and I won't have trash in my collection).
Arctiids are largely un-palatable distasteful moths by most predators standards. They spit them out once they have tried them and learn to recognize them or anything mimicking them. They acquire alkaloids in their system thru the food plants which the larvae feed on. Hence, the orange discharge. This may also be what helps grease up many a specimen. But, somehow good ones do make it through. Keep at it !
Ever seen some of those European collections of full drawers of Arctiid species. Chances are most were bred (at several different times) or the drawer represents several different collectors holdings all gathered. They nearly always look impeccably pinned and A1 so you know they were quick pinned right away -- no papering. Arctiids have those thread-like antennae so you know those probably wouldn't be very intact if they had to be rehydrated.
I don't dabble too much in moths but, you are very much correct in addressing the little leps (first) when it comes to preparation. Little moths,Lycaenidae,Eurema's (Pieridae) and the like need to be quick pinned if you have any real hope of acquiring nice specimens. I've seen a whole lot of small "trashed" stuff in various collections over the years as people simply cannot effectively work with most of it once it has dried out.

[callosamialover]

I do love the ligjt form female tiger swallowtails, but personnally, I feel, the Cabadian Tiger Swallowtails are the best, looking. The females are much darker than the males, and have a lot of black and blue on them. Contrary to what is written, in my opinion, they are dimorphic.

[mothman27]

Thanks for all that information trehopr1. I think I would have to say that Battus philenor is my favorite native swallowtail. The iridescent blue with the orange spots on the hindwings is amazing. So far I have collected 5 of the 6, still haven't encountered the Zebra Swallowtail, highest butterfly on my wanted list.

[Paul K]

Oct 20, 2017 19:09:02 GMT exoticimports said:

In western NY state, they were only seen (rarely) south of Buffalo. Then, about six years ago, they "invaded" east, being seen in lakeshore counties as far east (at least) as Onandaga County. Last year they were quite common, though this year not so much. They are definitely breeding in Western/ Upstate NY.

Before anyone screams global warming, the winter before last was brutal, with ice on the bays until early April, and I saw -33C one morning, which is the lowest I've ever seen. And this year was perfect for insects, but of all the different species, the Giant seems to be the only population that dropped.

Chuck

I agree with Chuck, 2017 was a great year also for butterflies in Southern Ontario.
I have seen many new species and numbers of others were greater than usually.
Junonia coenia was one of those I have never seen here before and Papilio cresphontes I spotted  more than 20 times. Vanessa cardui in September and October was seen in hundreds, what a great year for this species, I have never seen one example before in Ontario.
I actually saw one yesterday ( Oct 20 ) flying around shopping mall.

Paul

[mothman27]

Well, this year I made an effort in particular to get this species, visiting the Steuben location 3 times. Although I did manage to collect around 15 specimens, the majority were A-/A2 quality.
I really wanted to raise them so I was able to get two females from a location here in Whitley County, Indiana (A location I will return to next year because it is only 10 minutes from my house and has lots of swallowtails) and one did lay eggs for me.
Unfortunately, most did not make it past first instar. I only had one make it to pupation, so that was a big disappointment. I did find one larva in Steuben Co. although I do not know why I could not find more (that day I was also busy tree tapping for Catocala).
So I now have two pupae of P. cresphontes. Both pupae are small so I am expecting "dwarf" Giant Swallowtails. I also collected a nice female in Montgomery County, Indiana back in August.