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Photo#1368088
Black Swallowtail - Papilio polyxenes

Black Swallowtail - Papilio polyxenes
Moreno Valley, Riverside County, California, USA
April 30, 2017
Size: A guess would be 7 or 8cm
This butterfly caught my eye because it looked strange, as I have not seen a butterfly like this before. It flew into my backyard flew around various plants then flew off. After a long search on the internet the best match was a Black Swallowtail please correct me if I'm wrong. I am submitting this because I believe this specimen to be rare in California.

Moved
Moved from Indra Swallowtail.

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

 
Black Swallowtail subspecies coloro
is western black swallowtail. White spots on abdomen only occurs with a few black species so your observation is noted. Baird's Old World Swallowtail has white abdominal spots but dorsal wing spots are yellow rather than white. Subspecies pergamus of Indra as well as Anise Swallowtails do not have abdominal white spotting. White dorsal spotting of wings and abdominal white spots indicate Papilio polyxenes.

 
Black Swallowtail
Thank you for your input Cliff Ivy. I looked at all the pics of p. indra and none show the spotted abdomen that my specimen does. Those spots would indicate P. polyxenes more closer but is there other indications that show otherwise?
Sincerely,
Rodney

I'm no expert,
however this is similar to Papilio minori, but still may be out of your range.

 
Black Swallowtail
Thanks for your input Nancy Kent, I was thinking p. polyxenes because of its markings.

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