This lifeform is widespread in North America. This lifeform is found north of the Equator in the New World tropics. This lifeform is common in suitable environments.

Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) is found from New England to Colombia in South America. There is controversy among taxonomists as to whether some of the subspecies of this kind should be raised to full species status. Key to the discussion is a genetic code that permits examples to live in the harsh winters of New England and the tropics of Colombia.

Following is an incomplete list of several of the better-known subspecies of the Black Swallowtail.

   SPECIES                  LOCATION

   P. polyxenes asterius    East USA, south USA to Arizona and Mexico
   P. polyxenes polyxenes   Cuba
   P. polyxenes americus    North Peru, Colombia, and  Venezuela
   P. polyxenes stabilis    Costa Rica

In addition to the subspecies, there are several different forms of the Black Swallowtail including:

form apliata.....very dark in both sexes
form curvifascia.....median bands broad
form pseudoamericus.....wide yellow bands

Papilio genus (Swallowtail butterflies) is a large genus of larger butterflies in the Papilionidae family.  This genus is found in most temperate and tropical regions of the world.  One characteristic shared by many, but not all, of the species is a spatulate tail (end slightly wider than the base.)  In contrast, Papilio zenobia  (Africa),  Papilio gallienus (Africa), and Papilio zagreus (Neotropic region) have no tails.  Many of the species in this genus are sexually dimorphic in that the females have a different appearance than the males.  Other species are unusual in that more than one form is found in the same species.  Papilio glaucus of the eastern United States, for example, has two different color forms for the female.  In this species some females are yellow with black veining similar to the males, and other females are a dark blue-black in color.  Papilio dardanus of Africa is interesting in that the male has tails, and the majority of numerous female forms are without tails.  In contrast, Papilio memnon of the Oriental region is unusual in that the males have no tails, and several female forms have a large spatulate tail.  Over 150 different species and subspecies in this very spectacular family are shown here.

New World Papilio machaon group is in a state of taxonomic confusion. The thinking used here is that Papilio polyxenes is found from New England to southern Colombia. However, the western United States and Canadian forms of this complex group have been divided into many different species. There is no doubt that the thinking will change as breeding experiments are conducted.

When Rothschild and Jordan revised the New World Papilionidae they listed only six species in this group. However, six of the various subspecies have been raised to full species status.

Papilio brevicauda used to be considered a subspecies of Papilio polyxenes. Papilio gothica was a mountain form of Papilio zelicaon. Papilio rudkini was a desert form of Papilio zelicaon.

Papilio joanae is a new discovery from southern Missouri that is closely related to Papilio polyxenes. Papilio oregonius is a form from the Pacific Northwest related to Papilio machaon. Papilio kahli is very close to Papilio polyxenes and Papilio machaon. The species are (an * indicates that this species is pictured):

   SPECIES                      LOCATION

   Papilio brevicauda*          East Canada
   Papilio kahli*               Central-West Canada
   Papilio oregonius*           West Canada and northwest USA
   Papilio gothica*             Rocky Mountains of USA
   Papilio joanae*              Ozarks of south Missouri of USA
   Papilio polyxenes*           East USA to Colombia
   Papilio bairdi*              West USA
   Papilio rudkini*             Deserts of southwest USA
   Papilio zelicaon*            mostly California
   Papilio indra*               mostly mountains of west USA
   Papilio machaon*             North Canada  (and Old World)
   Papilio nitra*               Alberta Canada to Colorado

Family Papilionidae (Swallowtails), Papilio family, contains about five hundred and fifty different species with perhaps a new species still being discovered every two or three years. Many species are sexually dimorphic in that the females do not look like the males. A common example of this is the Tiger Swallowtail of North America where the males are always yellow and black and the females can be either yellow and black or occasionally a blue color.

Swallowtails are usually medium to large species and strong fliers. They are unusual in that the adults have six fully developed legs. Many newer families of butterflies have only four well-developed legs with the front two legs being very underdeveloped.

Butterfly scientists are attracted to this group, and high prices are paid for the largest and the rarest kinds. Most of the species are bred locally on a hobby-business basis to fill the demand.

The Queen Alexander might be extinct. Although this species has been protected, the damage seems to have been done by land clearing projects which took away its natural habitat. The number of specimens in collections seems to be so small that collectors cannot be blamed for this extinction. There are probably less than ten collections in the United States that have over five hundred different species of Papilionidae.

Butterflies and Moths (Order Lepidoptera) are a group of insects with four large wings. They go through various life cycles including eggs, caterpillar (larvae), pupae, and adult. Most butterflies and moths feed as adults, but primarily do most of their growing in the larval or caterpillar stage. Also, most species are restricted to feeding as caterpillars upon a unique set of plants. In this pairing of insects to plants, there arises a unique plant population control system. When one plant species becomes too common, specific pests to that species also become more common and thus prevent the further spreading of that particular plant species.

Although most people think of the Lepidoptera as two different groups: butterflies and moths, technically, the concept is not valid.

Some families, such as Silk Moths (Saturnidae) and Hawk Moths (Sphingidae), are clearly moths. Other families, such as Swallowtail Butterflies (Papilionidae), are clearly butterflies, However, several families exhibit characteristics that appear to be neither moths nor butterflies. For example: the Castnia Moths of South America are frequently placed in the Skipper Family (Hesperidae). The Sunset Moths (Uranidae) have long narrow antennae and fly during the day.

Note: Numerous museums and biologists have loaned specimens to be photographed for this project.

Insects (Class Insecta) are the most successful animals on Earth if success is measured by the number of species or the total number of living organisms. This class contains more than a million species, of which North America has approximately 100,000.

Insects have an exoskeleton. The body is divided into three parts. The foremost part, the head, usually bears two antennae. The middle part, the thorax, has six legs and usually four wings. The last part, the abdomen, is used for breathing and reproduction.

Although different taxonomists divide the insects differently, about thirty-five different orders are included in most of the systems.

The following abbreviated list identifies some common orders of the many different orders of insects discussed herein:

   Odonata:      Dragon and Damsel Flies
   Orthoptera:   Grasshoppers and Mantids
   Homoptera:    Cicadas and Misc. Hoppers
   Diptera:      Flies and Mosquitoes
   Hymenoptera:  Ants, Wasps, and Bees
   Lepidoptera:  Butterflies and Moths
   Coleoptera:   Beetles

Jointed Legged Animals (Phylum Arthropoda) make up the largest phylum. There are probably more than one million different species of arthropods known to science. It is also the most successful animal phylum in terms of the total number of living organisms.

Butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, various insects, spiders, and crabs are well-known arthropods.

The phylum is usually broken into the following five main classes:

   Arachnida:      Spiders and Scorpions
   Crustacea:      Crabs and Crayfish
   Chilopoda:      Centipedes
   Diplopoda:      Millipedes
   Insecta:        Insects

There are several other "rare" classes in the arthropods that should be mentioned. A more formal list is as follows:

   Sub Phylum Chelicerata

     C. Arachnida:      Spiders and scorpions
     C. Pycnogonida:    Sea spiders (500 species)
     C. Merostomata:    Mostly fossil species

   Sub Phylum Mandibulata

     C. Crustacea:      Crabs and crayfish
      
   Myriapod Group

     C. Chilopoda:      Centipedes
     C. Diplopoda:      Millipedes
     C. Pauropoda:      Tiny millipede-like
     C. Symphyla:       Garden centipedes

   Insect Group

     C. Insecta:        Insects

The above list does not include some extinct classes of Arthropods such as the Trilobites.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.