Pipevine Swallowtail
FamilyPapilionidae
Scientific NameBattus philenor
RangeNorth and Central America
HabitatWoodlands, gardens
About the Pipevine Swallowtail
A black swallowtail with shimmering iridescent blue hindwings. Its caterpillars feed on pipevines, plants of the genus Aristolochia, and store their toxic aristolochic acids. Both caterpillars and adults are distasteful to birds. Several other butterflies, including the Black Swallowtail, the Red-spotted Purple, and dark female Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, are thought to mimic it for protection.
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