We received 12 pale swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon) pupae today. Even though pale swallowtails (Papilio eurymedon) are supposed to be a common California thing, our particular region doesn't have them. . . or, we kind of do but they are rare and would only ever found in natural places like canyons. Therefore, it is somewhat ironic that we would need to obtain our stock from someone else. Today we received 12 overwintering pupae. Their parents were from two different lineages, one from Utah and the other from Oregon, so they are genuinely high quality outbred stock. Actually, it's a bit strange (in an interesting good way) because the populations from the two states are probably quite different in in terms of their host plants preferences, diapause and diapause breaking responses, appearance, etc. There were 6 green and 6 brown morph pupae. They are distinctly different forms and not at all intermediate, mottled messes like a lot of P. rutulus. The brown coloration is very dark, rich, and smooth looking, especially on the lateral stripes; it is not at all like the typical golden or grayish brown of P. rutulus. As for the green, it's nothing like we've ever seen before! It is brighter in shade than the green on our P. rutulus and like the brown, it is very smooth and even. There is a single lighter form brown pupae that has bits of green on it, but it doesn't look anything like the P. rutulus pupae we currently have. In terms of shape, the P. eurymedon seem to be slighter fatter and shorter. The last set (highest segment) of little bumps on the back is also greatly reduced. Another big surprise for use was how large the pupae were. From greatest the least, the weights are 1.53, 1.43, 1.41, 1.37, 1.29, 1.22, 1.17, 1.03, 1.02, 1.01, 0.90, 0.76. Of course, they most likely have dropped up to 0.1-0.2 g since they first pupated even if they are diapausing. Numerous field guides and internet sources/pictures point towards the adults being much smaller than P. rutulus (sometimes even smaller than P. zelicaon!). While this may be somewhat true, the pupae size easily rivals that of any tiger (well, except P. multicaudatus which is off the charts). If they are smaller than the P. rutulus, it is only by a small margin based on our samples of the two species. With these under our belt, by next year in Ithaca, we shall be packed with all kinds of tiger genera. It will be a tough road trying to keep every single one of these eurymedons alive and to get them to emerge together (especially in Ithaca climate), but if all fails we could try a little hybridization. . . which we would probably attempt anyway if we get a stable amount of these and other species. The major concern after that is getting the host plants. They like ceanothus (Ceanothus) for sure, and it they would most likely respond best to it when trying to get them to lay eggs, but that it doesn't seem like Ithaca would have the stuff except as a garden ornamental. Hopefully, Prunus will also work. The same goes with P. rutulus. ![]() Authors Brian Liang
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Timeline 2012–2017
Albany, California This timeline is a series of daily posts recording our observations on and experiences with various insects in Albany California and surrounding areas, from 2012-2017. Since we did not publish this site until 2016, posts before that were constructed retroactively. Starting in August 2017, we moved to Ithaca, New York; posts from there on can be viewed at Timeline 2017-present: Ithaca, New York. Archives (1,011)
August 2017 (49) July 2017 (121) June 2017 (79) May 2017 (77) April 2017 (91) March 2017 (35) February 2017 (12) January 2017 (10) December 2016 (12) November 2016 (26) October 2016 (49) September 2016 (84) August 2016 (94) July 2016 (99) June 2016 (53) May 2016 (21) April 2016 (4) January 2016 (1) August 2015 (3) July 2015 (3) June 2015 (2) June 2014 (3) May 2014 (1) April 2014 (3) March 2014 (3) December 2013 (2) November 2013 (2) October 2013 (5) September 2013 (11) August 2013 (15) July 2013 (9) June 2013 (5) May 2013 (4) April 2013 (3) March 2013 (2) February 2013 (3) January 2013 (2) December 2012 (2) November 2012 (1) October 2012 (2) September 2012 (2) August 2012 (5) July 2012 (1) June 2012 (1) 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 Adelpha californica Agraulis vanillae Allancastria cerisyi Antheraea mylitta Antheraea polyphemus Anthocharis sara Argema mimosae Attacus atlas Battus philenor hirsuta Bombyx mori Caligo atreus Callosamia promethea Coenonympha tullia california Citheronia regalis Cricula trifenestrata Danaus plexippus Eacles imperialis Erynnis tristis Estigmene acrea Eumorpha achemon Eupackardia calleta Furcula cinereoides Heliconius erato Heliconius hecale Heliconius sapho Heliconius sara Hyalophora cecropia Hyalophora columbia Hyalophora euryalus Hylephila phyleus Hyles lineata Junonia coenia Langia zenzeroides formosana Lophocampa maculata Manduca sexta Morpho peleides Nymphalis antiopa Orgyia vetusta Orthosia hibisci quenquefasciata Pachysphinx modesta Papilio cresphontes Papilio eurymedon Papilio glaucus Papilio machaon oregonius Papilio multicaudata Papilio polyxenes asterius Papilio rumiko Papilio rutulus Papilio zelicaon Phyciodes mylitta Phyciodes pulchella Pieris rapae Plejebus acmon Poanes melane Polites sabuleti Polygonia satyrus Pyrgus communis Rothschildia jacobaeae Samia cynthia advena Samia ricini Smerinthus cerisyi Smerinthus ophthalmica Strymon melinus Trichoplusia ni Uresephita reversalis Vanessa annabella Vanessa atalanta Vanessa cardui Unidentified Lepidoptera Hybrids Papilio glaucus × Papilio rutulus Papilio polyxenes asterius × Papilio zelicaon Orthoptera Melanoplus devastator Phaneroptera nana Pristoceuthophilus pacificus Scudderia mexicana Trimerotropis pallidipennis Phasmatodea Carausius morosus Phyllium giganteum Mantodea Mantis religiosa Phyllocrania paradoxa Hymenoptera Apis mellifera Bombus vosnesenskii Brachymeria ovata Linepithema humile Pediobius sp. Polistes dominula Xylocopa varipuncta Unidentified Diptera Lucilia sericata Unidentified Hemiptera Brochymena sp. Leptoglossus sp. Nezara viridula Odonata Argia vivida Libellula croceipennis Coleoptera Coccinella septempunctata Cycloneda polita Diabrotica undecimpunctata Hippodamia convergens Araneae (Class: Arachnida) Araneus diadematus Phidippus johnsoni |