Polydamas Swallowtail Butterfly - Battus polydamas
Though lovely this dark-winged Butterfly is, I'd have loved to see the dorsal side of its wings. Nevertheless, I won't complain too much given these pictures come from a long way from home and from a dear friend who has given us a glimpse to some tropical insects. This dazzling specie features pronounced veins and prominent red markings along the edge of the underside of the hindwing. The forewing features a yellow band that rides along the wing (but not to the edge) both above and below. It's similar to the band of the male Eastern Black Swallowtail but positioned lower on the wing and less steep in shape. The band appears somewhat faded on the underwing, hence why I would have liked to see the dorsal side. The Butterfly's body itself can be easily recognized from the coat of orange-red dots it wears and a similarly colored stripe running along the abdomen (which is partially visible in Pictures 1 and 4). With all these observations in mind, similar to the aforementioned Eastern Black Swallowtail, this specie may be mistaken at a passing glance with the Pipevine Swallowtail (a close relative: Battus philenor). Red spots or white spots, only a landing will tell, as the Pipevine has a royal blue shroud atop its wing scales (if male). Based on location, this individual is likely of the western group (subspecie B. polydamas polydamas), but there are many subspecies in the Central America range so I can't be sure.
It truly is a beautiful insect, and it maintains those stunning colors all throughout its entire development from Caterpillar to Butterfly. From the images I've research Polydamas Caterpillars are plump and dark (dark brown to black range) with a coat of orange spikes along their body and two long protrusions near their head. Such an appearance not only looks fearsome, but can also lead them to be mistaken for B. philenor Caterpillars. From the images I've looked at for comparison, the Polydamas Caterpillars are far more elaborate in appearance. However, when metamorphosed into Butterfly, there is one thing that is sure not to be missed on this specie...or missed, actually as the case may be. Contrary to some of its more popular relatives, this insect is also known as the Tailless Swallowtail! Unlike the handful of Swallowtails* that have graced this blog, there is a complete absence of hindwing tail, and appears to be the only specie in North America to feature tail absence. While these tails are beautiful to observe, it was enlightening to learn just how large the Papilionidae family was and how many Swallowtails actually lack tails. For example, the Palawan Birdwing (Trogonoptera trojana) is a Swallowtail (Birdwing), and though magnificent in size and iridescence, it too lacks tails. That's just the way the wings form within some branches of Lepidoptera.
*Note: As a Swallowtail, you can actually see all 6 legs active and strong, compared to the 4 active legs of the previous two tropical Brush-Footed Butterflies.
Pictures were taken on February 11, 2024 in Mexico with a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.