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 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 200 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.
The fifty most recently verified sightings are below. See more recently verified sightings of all species.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
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May 05, 2012 | Everlast | Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States | May 16, 2012 | Details |
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April 20, 2012 | whbauer | Comal County, Texas, United States | May 08, 2012 | Details |
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May 02, 2012 | Michele McCormick | Placer County, California, United States | May 03, 2012 | Details |
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April 12, 2012 | JimConrad | Adams County, Mississippi, United States | May 02, 2012 | Details |
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April 07, 2012 | Kari | Lee County, Florida, United States | April 27, 2012 | Details |
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April 23, 2012 | bpattersonweber | Collier County, Florida, United States | April 27, 2012 | Details |
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September 14, 2011 | swlll | Dallas County, Texas, United States | April 22, 2012 | Details |
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April 17, 2012 | jamiep | Harris County, Texas, United States | April 18, 2012 | Details |
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April 12, 2012 | jdupton | Texas, United States, Williamson County | April 13, 2012 | Details |
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April 13, 2012 | gardenhen | Texas, Travis County, United States | April 13, 2012 | Details |
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April 07, 2012 | aahewetson | Texas, Throckmorton County, United States | April 11, 2012 | Details |
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March 14, 2012 | lumloms | Texas, Trinity County, United States | April 09, 2012 | Details |
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March 30, 2012 | Steve Craig | Barry County, Missouri, United States | April 03, 2012 | Details |
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March 03, 2012 | ozero | Texas, Medina County, United States | March 08, 2012 | Details |
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September 10, 2011 | Karen Adams | Franklin County, Ohio, United States | January 24, 2012 | Details |
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June 20, 2011 | K Stilwell | Dickenson County, Virginia, United States | December 24, 2011 | Details |
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April 30, 2006 | rseidler | Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, United States | November 27, 2011 | Details |
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May 19, 2010 | rconnorsphoto | Perry County, Tennessee, United States | October 14, 2011 | Details |
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October 08, 2011 | Doug Bruce | Hardeman County, Tennessee, United States | October 14, 2011 | Details |
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April 10, 2010 | John Ashley | Texas, Llano County, United States | October 10, 2011 | Details |
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October 04, 2011 | KarenL | Williamson County, Tennessee, United States | October 05, 2011 | Details |
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April 30, 2006 | rseidler | Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States | September 20, 2011 | Details |
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July 27, 2011 | jftrahan | Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States | September 20, 2011 | Details |
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July 29, 2003 | rseidler | East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, United States | September 19, 2011 | Details |
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September 16, 2011 | KarenL | Williamson County, Tennessee, United States | September 16, 2011 | Details |
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June 29, 2006 | rseidler | Caldwell Parish, Louisiana, United States | September 11, 2011 | Details |
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April 28, 2011 | jftrahan | Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States | September 09, 2011 | Details |
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September 07, 2011 | r.barbaro@sbcglobal.net | Nevada County, California, United States | September 08, 2011 | Details |
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September 04, 2011 | Texflowers | Texas, San Patricio County, United States | September 06, 2011 | Details |
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November 26, 2009 | serauk | Hays County, Texas, United States | September 05, 2011 | Details |
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August 28, 2011 | Doug Bruce | Bledsoe County, Tennessee, United States | September 01, 2011 | Details |
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August 14, 2011 | threewilkies | Cobb County, Georgia, United States | August 30, 2011 | Details |
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August 22, 2011 | Eastwood | Texas, United States | August 23, 2011 | Details |
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August 16, 2011 | jawinget | Monroe County, Illinois, United States | August 17, 2011 | Details |
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August 14, 2011 | CNoll | New Kent County, Virginia, United States | August 16, 2011 | Details |
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June 11, 2011 | fragglecat | Burnet County, Texas, United States | August 15, 2011 | Details |
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August 13, 2011 | CNoll | New Kent County, Virginia, United States | August 14, 2011 | Details |
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April 29, 2007 | dmtaggart | Quintana Roo, Mexico | August 10, 2011 | Details |
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September 16, 2010 | RaisingButterflies.org | Pima County, Arizona, United States | August 09, 2011 | Details |
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June 21, 2011 | Chatham Gardens | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | August 08, 2011 | Details |
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July 22, 2011 | dhsmall | Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States | August 08, 2011 | Details |
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August 06, 2011 | bjohnson007 | Shelby County, Tennessee, United States | August 08, 2011 | Details |
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May 14, 2010 | Eric McCloud | Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States | August 02, 2011 | Details |
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July 29, 2011 | George Sims | Douglas County, Missouri, United States | August 01, 2011 | Details |
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June 15, 2011 | Steve Craig | Shannon County, Missouri, United States | July 30, 2011 | Details |
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July 24, 2009 | flacracker | Harlan County, Kentucky, United States | July 26, 2011 | Details |
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July 02, 2010 | attroll | Virginia, United States | July 25, 2011 | Details |
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July 20, 2011 | JMartin37066 | Sumner County, Tennessee, United States | July 24, 2011 | Details |
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June 26, 2011 | Nancy Weiss | Albemarle County, Virginia, United States | July 19, 2011 | Details |
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May 14, 2011 | akieber | Harris County, Texas, United States | July 15, 2011 | Details |
