page_title: Papilio polyxenes
section_title: Morphology
hierarchical_section_title: Papilio polyxenes / Morphology
caption_attribution_description: Papilio polyxenes (black swallowtail) on fennel. Churchville Nature Center, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA. https://bugguide.net/node/view/34441
context_page_description: Papilio polyxenes, the black swallowtail, American swallowtail or parsnip swallowtail, is a butterfly found throughout much of North America. It is the state butterfly of Oklahoma and New Jersey. An extremely similar-appearing species, Papilio joanae, occurs in the Ozark Mountains region, but it appears to be closely related to Papilio machaon, rather than P. polyxenes. The species is named after the figure in Greek mythology, Polyxena, who was the youngest daughter of King Priam of Troy. Its caterpillar is called the parsley worm because the caterpillar feeds on parsley.
  The Papilio polyxenes demonstrates polyandry and a lek mating system, showing no male parental care and display sites. Females are therefore able to choose males based on these sites and males are the only resource the females find at these sites.
caption: Caterpillar of Papilio polyxenes on Foeniculum vulgare
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