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Spicebush Swallowtail - Hodges#4181 (Papilio troilus)
Photo#2067403
Copyright © 2021
Thom Mitchell
Papilio troilus
Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois, USA
August 9, 2021
Not great images, but hopefully adequate for an ID.
Images of this individual:
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Contributed by
Thom Mitchell
on 30 November, 2021 - 9:01pm
Last updated 14 January, 2022 - 9:30am
Easy way to ID a Spicebush
When you have the ventral hindwing as in photos 2 and 3 here, look at the 3rd position up (from the inner edge) on the inner (median) spot row - it is missing the orange.
I you only have the dorsal, then look at the large marginal spots on the upper ventral hindwing. Also the marginal forewing spots are usually larger than other dark swallowtails as well.
Images are more than adequate for ID.
Regarding the
"cloud" color on the dorsal hindwings
:
Males often have a greenish-blue tint to the cloud.
Females often have a blue tint to the cloud.
This specimen looks like a female based on that characteristic.
Here is a good key for dark swallowtails in our area:
http://louisiananaturalist.blogspot.com/2009/06/four-dark-swallowtails.html
.
…
Roy Cohutta Brown
, 14 January, 2022 - 9:30am
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Thanks for the resource, too!
Thank you for directing me/us to the side-by-side photos of the "Four Dark Swallowtails."
Perhaps there should me similar "side-by-side" photo pages for easily-confused skippers, too!
…
Thom Mitchell
, 14 January, 2022 - 1:04pm
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Moved
Moved from
Butterflies and Skippers
.
…
Roy Cohutta Brown
, 14 January, 2022 - 9:30am
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I'd say yes, Spicebush Swallowtail
The ivory-colored spots paralleling the wing margins - especially that inner row of triangular spots on the forewings - appear to be distinctive.
The "clouding" looks unusually deep blue (it's usually at least somewhat greenish), but it does look like that in other pics of this species (see thumbnail).
…
Kurt Foster
, 2 December, 2021 - 8:16am
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