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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Butterflies and Skippers (Papilionoidea) » Swallowtails, Parnassians (Papilionidae) » Papilioninae » Birdwings, Cattlehearts and Aristolochia Swallowtails (Troidini) » Battus » Pipevine Swallowtail - Hodges#4157 (Battus philenor)
Photo#446403
Pipevine Swallowtails - Battus philenor - male - female
Copyright © 2010 waldeneffect

Pipevine Swallowtails - Battus philenor - Male Female
Scott County, Virginia, USA
August 24, 2010
This isn't really an ID request, more of a question. Are Pipevine Swallowtails sexually dimorphic, or is the lower butterfly just older and faded?
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Contributed by waldeneffect on 24 August, 2010 - 12:42pm
Last updated 13 September, 2010 - 4:14pm

Moved
Moved from Butterflies (excluding skippers).
… David J. Ferguson, 13 September, 2010 - 4:14pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from ID Request.
… john and jane balaban, 4 September, 2010 - 7:40pm login or register to post comments

only slightly dimorphic
The males tend to have the yellow spots more reduced above, and to have more reflective blue scaling on both sides. The angle of the photo may cause one to look more blue than the other too, since it is reflective coloring, and it doesn't show up the same from different angles. Both genders a little variable in markings though, so it's not always easy to tell them apart by pattern alone. They do tend to loose some of the blue as they fade too, but these two both look pretty pristine to me. Upper one is male, lower is female.
… David J. Ferguson, 24 August, 2010 - 3:35pm login or register to post comments

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