SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLIES — CLARK 397 



Farther north yellow females become more common, and in the 

 northern portion of the range the females are all yellow. The yel- 

 low females are very variable. They usually differ more or less 

 widely from the males, but in some localities are exactly like them, 

 or a greater oa' lesser proportion of the females will be like the 

 males. Intermediates between the black and yellow females are rare. 

 The caterpillars of the yellow swallowtail are commonly known as 

 " elephant-worms." They feed on a great variety of different plants. 

 In the north they are commonly found on apple, pear, and cherry, 

 and especially wild cherry. They are seldom common enough to do 

 appreciable damage. 



In the western States this familiar swallowtail is represented by 

 a closely allied kind {Papilio rutidics, pi. 8, fig. 32) that is much 

 the same in habits. In this both sexes are alike. 



Similar to the two preceding, but white instead of yellow, is an- 

 other common and wide-ranging western swallowtail {Papilio eury- 

 medon^ pi. 8, fig. 33). 



In the drier regions of the west from British Columbia to Guate- 

 mala lives a related sort {Papilio multicaudaia^ pi. 8, fig. 28; pi. 10, 

 fig. 45) easily distinguished from the others by the possession of two 

 conspicuous tails on each hind wing. 



The occurrence of three tails on each hind wing distinguishes our 

 last swallowtail of this general type, a rather uncommon species 

 {Papilio pilmnnus, pi. 8, fig. 29 ; pi. 10, fig. 46) found from the south- 

 western border States southward to Guatemala. 



Moist open woods and nearby fields and gardens form the favorite 

 habitat of the spice-bush swallowtail {Papilio troiltis, pi. 11, figs. 49, 

 50) of the eastern States, which in certain regions is the commonest of 

 all the swallowtails. The caterpillars in the South are known as 

 " mellow-bugs." They feed chiefly on spice-bush and on sassafras, 

 and are sometimes locally abundant. 



Characteristic of the great swamps of the southeastern States is the 

 large and handsome magnolia swallowtail {Papilio palamedes, pi. 11, 

 figs. 47, 48). In those regions that are especially suited to it, as for 

 instance the Great Dismal in eastern Virginia, it is very coimnon — 

 indeed, the most numerous of the swallowtails. It is rather a prosaic 

 insect, flapping its steady way among the trees with a somewhat heavy 

 flight, seemingly with some purposeful idea of getting somewhere. 

 The caterpillars live on magnolia trees. 



The only tailless fluted swallowtail recorded from the United States 

 {Papilio anchisiades idaetis, pi. 14, figs. 84, 85) is a dark dingy brown 

 with a large red spot on the hind wings. It is said to have been cap- 

 tured at or near Marfa, Tex. In tropical America this butterfly, in 

 various forms, is very common and its caterpillars frequently are a 

 serious pest on orange trees. 



