Papilio zelicaon (Anise Swallowtail)
Papilio zelicaon, also called Anise Swallowtail is a butterfly from Nearctic ecozone (North America). The first description was in 1852 by Lucas. The wingspan is about 7 – 9 cm. Papilio zelicaon is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE. The basic colour of this butterfly is black with yellow spots and areas. The hind wings have tails.
Photos for easy identification
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Here you can see some photos of Papilio zelicaon (Anise Swallowtail) (male above / female below). Papilio zelicaon is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE from Nearctic (North America).
Description
The fore wings are black. In the middle of the wing there is a chain of large, yellow spots. At the outer edge there is a chain of little, yellow spots. At the front edge there are two large, yellow spots.
The underside of Papilio zelicaon is very similar to the upside. But, the basic colour is dark-brown.
The hind wings of Papilio zelicaon are yellow and they have tails. The edge is wavy. The veins are black. The outer edge is black and contains one chain of blue spots and one chain of yellow spots. At the inner edge there is a red eye with black core.
The underside is very similar to the upside. But, there are some additional red spots.
The body is striped in black-yellow. The thorax is striped in black-yellow. The head is striped in black-yellow. The underside of all parts is yellow and has black stripes.
Sex differences: None.
Distribution
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Papilio zelicaon is a butterfly from the Nearctic (North America) ecozone. The area of distribution of this butterfly stretches from the West coast of Canada (British Columbia) to USA and Mexico (Baja California).
Larval food
Umbelliferae:
- Anethum graveolens
- Angelica ampla
- Angelica hendersonii
- Angelica kingii
- Angelica lineariloba
- Angelica lucida
- Angelica tomentosa
- Apium graveolens
- Carum carvi
- Cicuta maculata
- Conioselinum scopulorum
- Conium maculatum
- Daucus carota
- Daucus pusillus
- Foeniculum vulgare
- Harbouria trachypleura
- Heracleum maximum
- Heracleum sphondylium
- Ligusticum grayi
- Ligusticum porteri
- Lomatium californicum
- Lomatium dasycarpum
- Lomatium dissectum
- Lomatium grayi
- Lomatium marginatum
- Lomatium nuttallii
- Lomatium parryi
- Lomatium triternatum
- Lomatium utriculatum
- Musineon tenuifolium
- Oenanthe sarmentosa
- Pastinaca sativa
- Perideridia bolanderi
- Perideridia gairdneri
- Perideridia kelloggii
- Petroselinum crispum
- Pseudocymopterus montanus
- Pteryxia hendersonii
- Pteryxia petraea
- Pteryxia terbinthina
- Pteryxia terebinthina
- Sphenosciadium capitellatum
- Tauschia arguta
- Tauschia parishii
- Zizia aptera
Rutaceae:
- Citrus limon
- Citrus sinensis
- Ruta graveolens
General information
The first description of this butterfly was in 1852 by Lucas. There is only one subspecies.
- Papilio zelicaon nitra [Edwards, 1883]
This species is very similar to Papilio machaon. A significant different between of these two species is the black core of the red eye at Papilio zelicaon.
Macro - photos
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Here you can see some macro photos of Papilio zelicaon.
Protection provisions / Red List
- CITES: (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora):
-no entry- - EU regulation on trading with species of wild Fauna and Flora:
-no entry- - IUCN Red List of threatened species:
-no entry-
Similar and closely-related species
Scientific name
Papilio zelicaon Lucas 1852
Other names
Anise Swallowtail, Western Swallowtail
Classification / Taxonomy / Family tree
- Kingdom: ANIMALIA
- Phylum: ARTHROPODA
- Class: INSECTA
- Order: LEPIDOPTERA
- Suborder: DITRYSIA
- Superfamily: PAPILIONOIDEA
- Family: PAPILIONIDAE
- Subfamily: PAPILIONINAE
- Tribe: PAPILIONINI
- Genus: PAPILIO
- Specific name: ZELICAON
