When it becomes a Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly, it will feed mostly on nectar from flowers, rotting fruit and water with a 'proboscis' - a long narrow tube in their mouth that looks like a straw. A Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly is a herbivore Meaning that as a caterpillar its first food is its own eggshell and than it will eat the leaves of the plant on which it is hatched. Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly are insects.

Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly are always found in areas with pawpaw trees. The butterflies have 3 to 4 broods in the south and 2 in the north. The Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly are usually seen from the month of February to December and from the month of March to August in the southern portion and in the northern portion of their range respectively. They include Slimleaf Pawpaw, Woolly Pawpaw, Smallflower Pawpaw, Netted Pawpaw, Four-petal Pawpaw, and Common Pawpaw (A. The caterpillars commonly feed on species of pawpaw of the genus Asimina. The chrysalises hibernate in areas within their range and with cold winters. The chrysalises are either brown or green, and have three small horns projected from their head and thorax. The other major predatorof the Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly is birds. The larvae use osmeterium (a yellow, foul-smelling gland) to deter predators, such as ants and spiders. Black form is rarer and is banded with white and orange. Green with white and yellow transverse stripes is the common form. Young larvae are black and have lighter transverse stripes while older larvae have 2 color forms: green form and black form. The eggs are round and pale green, but later turn to orange-brown in color. This is because the caterpillar is cannibalistic. Marcellus lays eggs singly on the leaves of pawpaw trees or on the trunks. Other foods for Zebra Swallowtail butterflies include urine and rotting fruit.įemale P. Amino acids and salts are very important minerals to male Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly, aiding them in reproduction. The males participate in puddling (a behavior in which they congregate on moist soil, gravel, or sand to obtain amino acids and salts). Both female Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly and males frequently visit flowers from the families Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, Polemoniaceae, and Rosaceae. The males fly swiftly and directly, 2 to 6 ft (0.5 to 1.8 meters) above the ground. Male Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly always patrol near the host plants to find females. Its summer forms are large and blacker with broad black stripes, and have long, black tails having white tips.įemale Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly fly slowly when looking for a suitable host plant. Its spring forms are small and whiter with short, black tails having white tips. Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly have two seasonal forms one in spring and one in summer. There are red spots near the inner margin of their hind wings and a red stripe running along the middle of its ventral hind wing. It has pair of sword like tails that extend from its hind wings. The wingspan is 2.5 to 4.1 inches (6.4 to 10.4 cm). The Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly has greenish-white wings with black longitudinal stripes.

The black or green caterpillars feed on pawpaw leaves, while the adult Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly feed on flower nectars and minerals especially from damp soil. The Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly is associated with pawpaw trees, and is always found near these trees.

The Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly can be identified easily by their black and white striped pattern that is reminiscent of a zebra together with their distinctive long tails and wing shape. Facts about Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly, 'Scientific name for Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly is Protographium Marcellus' Zebra Swallowtails Butterfly are swallowtail butterflies native to the southeast Canada and eastern United States.

Zebra swallowtail butterfly meaning