Attributes of Battus philenor
Pipevine Swallowtail
Battus philenor (Linnaeus, 1771)
Family: Papilionidae
Subfamily: Papilioninae
Identification: Upper surface of hindwing iridescent blue or blue-green. Underside of hindwing with submarginal row of 7 round orange spots in iridescent blue field.
Wing Span: 2 3/4 - 5 inches (7 - 13 cm).
Life History: Adult males patrol likely habitat in search of receptive females. Females lay batches of eggs on underside of host plant leaves. Caterpillars feed in small groups when young but become solitary when older. Wintering is by the chrysalis.
Flight: In the East and California, adults fly primarily in late spring (though as early as late February or March) and summer, but the butterfly is commoner in late summer and fall in the South and Southwest. Where lack of freezing temperatures permit, adults may fly continuously. In lowland tropical Mexico they may be found in any month.
Caterpillar Hosts: Pipevines (Aristolochia species), including Aristolochia californica, A. serpentaria and others.
Adult Food: Solely nectar from flowers including thistles (Cirsium species), bergamot, lilac, viper's bugloss, common azaleas, phlox, teasel, azaleas, dame's-rocket, lantana, petunias, verbenas, lupines, yellow star thistle, California buckeye, yerba santa, brodiaeas, and gilias.
Habitat: A wide variety of open habitats, open woodland, and woodland edges.
Range: Rare stray to Canada (s. Manitoba). Tropical lowlands south to southern Mexico.
Conservation: Normally not of high conservation concern, although states at northern limits have listed under state law. These listings are of dubious value where species is not a permanent resident.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: Management of habitats to ensure survival of host plant colonies is the only possible concern.
Taxonomy Notes:
Images of Battus philenor
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The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.
Instructions: Click on the map and move your mouse to pan.
Zoom by using the plus [+] and minus [-] on the left side of the map.
To change which map layers are displayed, click on the plus sign [+] on the right side of the map.
By default, the fifty most recently verified sightings are below. Sort by Observation Date to see the most recent sightings, or filter the sightings by region to get a regional list.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
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June 08, 2013 | Kimberly Mrozinski | Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States | June 15, 2013 | Details |
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June 08, 2013 | Doug Bruce | Monroe County, Tennessee, United States | June 15, 2013 | Details |
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March 30, 2013 | birder89 | Lawrence County, Ohio, United States | June 13, 2013 | Details |
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May 30, 2013 | Jeff Trahan | Vernon Parish, Louisiana, United States | June 04, 2013 | Details |
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May 23, 2013 | JimConrad | Texas, United States, Uvalde County | May 28, 2013 | Details |
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May 14, 2013 | gl1der | Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States | May 21, 2013 | Details |
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May 16, 2013 | cmcmorrow1 | Solano County, California, United States | May 17, 2013 | Details |
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May 12, 2013 | JimConrad | Texas, United States, Uvalde County | May 14, 2013 | Details |
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October 07, 2012 | tomfishburn | Hocking County, Ohio, United States | May 01, 2013 | Details |
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April 24, 2013 | treichard | Napa County, California, United States | April 26, 2013 | Details |
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April 17, 2013 | CA Ivy | Johnson County, Arkansas, United States | April 17, 2013 | Details |
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April 09, 2013 | Mike Stinson | Prince Edward County, Virginia, United States | April 13, 2013 | Details |
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March 22, 2013 | Paul Bloch | Shasta County, California, United States | April 09, 2013 | Details |
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March 22, 2013 | Paul Bloch | Tehama County, California, United States | April 09, 2013 | Details |
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March 17, 2013 | Nancy Hamlett | Los Angeles County, California, United States | March 24, 2013 | Details |
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April 24, 2011 | mikechapman | Glynn County, Georgia, United States | March 17, 2013 | Details |
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February 16, 2013 | PDunwiddie | Los Angeles County, California, United States | February 19, 2013 | Details |
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February 02, 2013 | Wallwiz | Seminole County, Florida, United States | February 11, 2013 | Details |
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May 19, 2012 | tjantscher | Iowa, United States | February 03, 2013 | Details |
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October 19, 2012 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | January 27, 2013 | Details |
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October 04, 2012 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | January 03, 2013 | Details |
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August 02, 2010 | Debbie Taylor | Pope County, Arkansas, United States | January 02, 2013 | Details |
| September 15, 1984 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Nye County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| July 09, 1987 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| August 22, 1990 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 14, 1990 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| March 18, 1989 | legacy.reporter (William S. Swisher) | Mohave County, Arizona, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| March 18, 1989 | legacy.reporter (William S. Swisher) | Maricopa County, Arizona, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| March 18, 1990 | legacy.reporter (William S. Swisher) | Maricopa County, Arizona, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| April 24, 1978 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| August 21, 1978 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| July 25, 1977 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| June 07, 1993 | legacy.reporter (Bruce Boyd) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| June 11, 1993 | legacy.reporter (Bruce Boyd) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| August 09, 1993 | legacy.reporter (Brent Boyd) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| May 05, 1977 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| June 14, 1977 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| June 26, 1977 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| August 05, 1972 | legacy.reporter (J. F. Lesser) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| April 22, 1996 | Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport) | Placer County, California, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| August 11, 1993 | legacy.reporter (Clifford D. Ferris) | Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| July 27, 1995 | legacy.reporter (Lauritz Muehlbach) | Yavapai County, Arizona, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| March 06, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Perry County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| March 10, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| March 18, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Colbert County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| March 25, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Cleburne County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| March 28, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Jefferson County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| March 31, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Bibb County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| April 01, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Cleburne County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| April 12, 2012 | vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) | Dallas County, Alabama, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details |
