Brand New Imitator - _TNY_6487
This is a female African swallowtail (Papilio dardanus, also known as the mocker swallowtail and flying handkerchief.
The "mocker swallowtail" name comes from the fact that the females of this species mimic other species of butterflies which birds find distateful. An impressive 14 different varieties are recognized. These are typically three general groups based on patterning: the hippocoon group, the cenea group, and the planemoides group - with this one belonging to hippocoon.
The perch the butterfly is resting on is one of the bars which the butterfly house glues the chysalides to so they can hatch properly so ms. Dardanus here has just crawled out of her chysalis after completing her metamorphosis and is in the process of waiting for her wings to harden enough for her to attempt her first flight.
Brand New Imitator - _TNY_6487
This is a female African swallowtail (Papilio dardanus, also known as the mocker swallowtail and flying handkerchief.
The "mocker swallowtail" name comes from the fact that the females of this species mimic other species of butterflies which birds find distateful. An impressive 14 different varieties are recognized. These are typically three general groups based on patterning: the hippocoon group, the cenea group, and the planemoides group - with this one belonging to hippocoon.
The perch the butterfly is resting on is one of the bars which the butterfly house glues the chysalides to so they can hatch properly so ms. Dardanus here has just crawled out of her chysalis after completing her metamorphosis and is in the process of waiting for her wings to harden enough for her to attempt her first flight.