76 BUTTERFLIES 



The Palamedes Swallowtail 



Papilio palamedes 



If the magician who had succeeded in converting a Black 

 Swallowtail into the Short-tailed Papilio wished to try his 

 hand on making a Palamedes Swallowtail he could not do 

 better than to use again the same black butterfly. He 

 would only need to make it about one half larger, retaining 

 practically all its color markings and the outline of its 

 wings and tail. For this species bears a remarkable re- 

 semblance to the Black Swallowtail, seeming to be a giant 

 variety induced by the warmth of the southern chmate 

 where it lives, and possibly by the more generous supply 

 of the magnolia and sassafras leaves upon which the cater- 

 pillars feed. 



This species is distinctly a southern form occurring as 

 far west as the Mississippi River throughout the more 

 Southern states. As one would expect in the long seasons 

 and warm climate of this region there are several broods 

 each year and the caterpillars often hibernate as well as the 

 chrysalids. The adult butterflies are lovers of the sun and 

 are said to roost at night upon the tops of live oak and 

 palmetto trees. 



The Zebra Swallowtail 



Iphiclides ajax 



Most of our Swallowtail butterflies are so distinctive in 

 form and colors that they are easily distinguished from one 

 another, but the Zebra species is so different from all the 



