The Butterflies of the World Foundation

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Spicebush Swallowtail

Papilio troilus Linnaeus, 1758

Subfamily Papilioninae

Tribe Papilionini, Fluted Swallowtails

Papilio troilus, Ouachita National Forest, Beech Creek, Le Flore County, Oklahoma, 28 June 2010                                                                                    Ref #:  I-444-18

Taxonomy

There are about 600 species within the family Papilionidae.  The family is made up of 3 subfamilies, the Parnassiinae, which has about 50 species of Parnassians and Apollos that are found mostly in the montane regions of the nothern hemisphere, the Baroniinae, which has only 1 species, Baronia brevicomis from western Mexico, and the Papilioninae, which has about 550 species found worldwide.  The subfamily Papilioninae is further divided into 4 tribes, the Teinopalpini, which include 2 species from the Himalayas, the Troidini, which has about 130 worldwide species including the birdwings, the Leptocircini, which has about 140 species and includes kite Swallowtails, and the Papilionini, which has over 200 worldwide species and includes the fluted swallowtails in which Papilio palamedes belongs to.

Papilio troilus, Little River National Wildlife Refuge, McCurtain County, Oklahoma,

28 June 2010                                                                             Ref #:  I-447-20.3

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General Information:

Papilio troilus is an attractive, large swallowtail that inhabits areas close to woodlands of the southeastern third of the United States.  It avidly collects nectar and is a common garden visitor.  Males can also be found in numbers imbibing minerals from the edges of lakes, rivers, and puddles on gravel roads.  It is a Batesian mimic of the Pipevine Swallowtail, Battus philenor.

Lifecycle:

Larval hostplants include spicebush, sassafras and other laurels.  Larvae rest in curled leaves lined with silk and resemble a snake’s head.  They have eversible organs called osmeteria that are used to chemically deter predators.

Papilio troilus, Ouachita National Forest, Beech Creek, Le Flore County, Oklahoma, 4 June 2010                                                                                           Ref #:  I-486-18