chrysalis - Battus philenor

shaped like B. philenor

not like B. polydamas. In particular look at the shape of the projections on the abdomen and thorax. Color is variable, and most Swallowtail species have green and brown form pupae.

Moved from Battus.

… David J. Ferguson, 20 November, 2008 - 4:07pm

Good tip

- for guide purposes, can you put into words the difference you see in the shape of projections? Seems to me they curve in more towards the tail end in B. polydamas, and are more straight out in B. philenor - is that what you mean?

… Hannah Nendick-Mason, 21 November, 2008 - 1:14pm

I think we're seeing the same thing

Hard to put such things into a few words, but in B. philenor the flattened projections on the abdomen seem to be more evenly and equally shapped, with the two side edges about equal in length, almost rectangular if not for the fairly evenly rounded top edge. The "nose" (really a projection on the back of the thorax) is somewhat shorter and rounder, sticking out usually straighter. On B. polydamus the abdominal projections are all more asymmetric in shape, the first pair almost triangular, with each pair is different in shape from the other pairs. They are less rounded on the outer side. The "nose" projection is longer and more pointed looking, more prominent, tending to lean "down" toward the abdomen a bit. There are other subtle differences in appearance, probably having to do with posture and proportions of the body, that are hard to quantify, and that change somewhat as you change the angle of viewing, so are not very useful for photos anyway.

… David J. Ferguson, 21 November, 2008 - 1:55pm

Thanks

I've put this as a thumbnail on the guide page - please don't frass.

… Hannah Nendick-Mason, 22 November, 2008 - 12:31pm

Moved

Moved from Butterflies and Moths. At thew very least, we know this is Battus.

… Hannah Nendick-Mason, 21 October, 2006 - 10:21am

Hmmm

to me it looks a lot like the green form of Battus polydamas (below), which I think is also possible, given your location.

… Hannah Nendick-Mason, 24 August, 2006 - 10:09pm

Wow

your pic looks just like it. Problem is, I've never seen B. polydamas and in Butterflies of Southeastern Arizona (Bailowitz and Brock, 1991) it is listed as "hypothetical." Somewhat dated reference. Maybe they've been recorded since, but don't imagine very often. Anyway, I'll be on the lookout when in Pima Canyon from now on. Pipevines on the other hand are in my opinion the most ubiquitous swallowtail in SE AZ. Wonder how close that congener's chrysalis is to the above? Thanks for the suggestion.

… Bob Beatson, 25 August, 2006 - 11:48am

Compare:

… Chuck Entz, 25 August, 2006 - 2:15pm

Color is the most variable feature of chrysalids

so it's quite possible this is B. philenor - I found an image on the web here that looks more like yours, though the ones already in the guide do not resemble yours so closely as the green B. polydamas one does. According to the map at BMNA, there are confirmed records of B. polydamas from at least part of SE Arizona.

I think you're safe in calling this Battus, at least! :)

… Hannah Nendick-Mason, 25 August, 2006 - 2:10pm

Thanks

Hannah, I'll be on the lookout for B. polydamas. Would love to see one.

… Bob Beatson, 27 August, 2006 - 6:57pm