We have reports that a hybrid ♀ Papilio polyxenes asterius × ♂ zelicaon male has mysteriously appeared in our tank. Before we left, we had thought that all of our hybrid pupae had already eclosed, except for the females that appeared to be in diapause. There should have also been exactly one pure Papilio polyxenes asterius male that had not yet eclosed (the one that we kept outside for photos and was exposed to cooler on average temperatures). Therefore, it struck us as quite odd when our mother mentioned that there were two "black" swallowtails that had emerged from our pupae tub when she checked. We told her to send us a picture and, as we suspected, one of the two very clearly appears to be a hybrid male. A while back, we had mysteriously lost a male hybrid pupa that we thought happened when we accidentally dropped a petri dish containing a few but now it is more likely that we got it mixed with the P. zelicaon pupae. Anyway, it is absolutely amazing that we finally have a hybrid specimen that is in good enough shape to really be looked at. (It is the individual in the far left of the photograph.) Based on our previous observations of the pharate pupae and the crippled males, we had already gotten the sense that the black from the polyxenes is quite dominant over the yellow but that many of the other traits were zelicaon-like. This new hyrbid basically confirms many things that we wrote before, although it can be hard to assess certain traits that are found on parts we can't see in the photo such as the hindwings and the abdomen. Because this is such a valuable specimen, we have asked our mother to pin it up so that we can get a closer look at it in real life should should we come back home during a break so perhaps we will make another post on it in the future. ![]() Authors Brian Liang
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Timeline 2017–present
Ithaca, New York This timeline is a series of daily posts recording our observations and experiences with various insects (primarily Lepidoptera) around the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York, starting from the time we moved here in 2017. As this is a personal blog, we try to keep collections/rearings for university research and course work to a minimum, and mainly focus on just the species we catch and raise for our own fun and interest. Posts prior to this time can be viewed at Timeline 2012-2017: Albany, California, though there is occasionally some crossover when we have returned home during breaks or reared stock derived from home (see Albany, California Updates). Archives (232)
July 2020 (1) August 2019 (2) July 2019 (35) June 2019 (46) May 2019 (20) March 2019 (1) January 2019 (1) November 2018* October 2018* September 2018 (1)* August 2018 (9)* July 2018 (11)* June 2018 (22*) May 2018 (18)* April 2018 (2)* January 2018 (6) December 2017 (5) November 2017 (1) October 2017 (5) September 2017 (26) August 2017 (19) *Currently, a significant portion of 2018 posts are missing. The notes/photos for this time period are saved on our personal files but the posts were never built due to a busy schedule that year. We are still actively building these posts when we have the time. Authors
![]() ![]() Full Species List
(Alphabetical by scientific name) Note: - Not every species we encounter is necessarily presented on this site, rather a selection of those that were of particular interest to us and that we felt were worth documenting. - We can't guarantee that all species have been identified accurately, particularly taxa we are not as familiar with. Lepidoptera Actias luna Agraulis vanillae Allancastria cerisyi Amphion floridensis Ancyloxypha numintor Antheraea polyphemus Battus philenor hirsuta Callosamia promethea Colias eurytheme Citheronia regalis Cupido comyntas Danaus plexippus Darapsa myron Diadema inscriptum Epargyreus clarus Erynnis baptisiae Estigmene acrea Euchaetes egle Eumorpha pandorus Hemaris diffinis Hyalophora cecropia Limenitis archippus Liminitis arthemis arthemis Limenitis arthemis astyanax Manduca sexta Orgyia leucostigma Pachysphinx modesta Paonias myops Papilio cresphontes Papilio eurymedon Papilio glaucus Papilio polyxenes asterius Papilio rutulus Papilio troilus Papilio zelicaon Pyrgus communis Samia ricini Smerinthus ophthalmica Speyeria cybele Sphecodina abbottii Vanessa atalanta Vanessa cardui Vanessa virginiensis Lepidoptera Hybrids Papilio polyxenes asterius × Papilio zelicaon Orthoptera Conocephalus sp. Dissosteira carolina Melanoplus femurrubrum Neoconocephalus ensiger Neoxabea bipunctata Phasmatodea Carausius morosus Diapheromera femorata Mantodea Mantis religiosa Albany, California Updates |