Caught More Anise Swallowtails at Albany Hill

Today we caught both a male and female anise swallowtails (Papilio zelicaon) at Albany Hill and hand-paired them.

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Ever since the weather has been seriously warming up (this past week has been the hottest all year) after many weeks, probably months, of mostly below-average temperatures, we have been seeing a significant increase in the amount of butterflies flying. Particularly, anise swallowtails (Papilio zelicaon), more or less absent before now, is a regular sight at Albany Hill. Just last week we caught a female around the fennel (Foeniculum vulgare); since then, we have frequently observed what appear to be both males and females flying about the site and once even saw what appeared to be courtship between two individuals.

Of course, we attempt to capture every individual we see unless we have confirmed that it is a male, but it can be difficult when they are in flight. Recently, we have gotten into the habit of simply sitting and waiting around the little playground by the Hill which is lined with flowers that the butterflies like to come nectar at. In fact, it is basically the only immediate food source for them. We have found that, unlike the western tiger swallowtails (Papilio rutulus), which are essentially 100% male whether or not they are patrolling conspicuously along the Albany Hill trail or coming to nectar and flying by the willows (Salix​), there is a fairly even sex ratio for zelicaon. 

Today, the first nectaring zelicaon we saw was a male that we promptly caught with our net. It looked more or less brand new except for a broken tail. Like most of the wild males we capture, its claspers were incredibly powerful and looked just about ready to obliterate whatever comes in contact with. . . We usually release the males or not capture them at all in the first place, but for some reason we decided to hang on for this one which was incredibly fortunate because about an hour later we caught a nectaring female. The female looked flawless and upon inspection of its genitalia, it appeared virgin. 

Needless to say, when we got home we immediately attempted to hand-pair the two. With this kind of male and a fresh female, it worked instantaneously. 

Now, the hand-pairing was probably successful, but were not sure about the status of the male. Whether or not he is actually brand new or if he very recently mated could compromise his current fertility. I suppose we will see in a few days if the eggs that the females lays are good or not. 

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Authors
Brian Liang

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