page_title: List of Lepidoptera of Utah
hierarchical_section_title: List of Lepidoptera of Utah
caption_attribution_description: Like many of the black swallowtails, the Pipevine Swallowtail has pretty orange spots. The orange color is caused by deposits of pigment. The Pipevine also glows an iridescent blue color when viewed in bright sunlight. This is not caused by pigment but rather by a process called Thin-Film Interference (TFI). The process of TFI is dependent on the angle of the light hitting the butterfly. I have found through trial and error that early morning and late afternoon are the best times to catch this blue color. I assume it is because the sun is lower in the sky at these times and hits the wings near to the perpendicular. Mid day it is harder to catch the blue color with as much intensity. The above shot was taken close to 10:00 am which is about when the butterflies really begin to appear and, coincidentally, is about when I have had enough coffee to venture outdoors. Thin-film interference (TFI) is a process that causes certain frequencies of reflected light to cancel (destructive interference). This occurs when light reflects from inner and outer layers of a surface. When the distance between the membrane surfaces is close to the wavelength of visible light, the process of TFI can turn white light into the colors of the rainbow. TFI is the same phenomenon that causes color in soap bubbles and oil films. To view the phenomenon in the Pipevine it is handy for them to land with wings facing the sun. Below I demonstrate and discuss the phenomenon of "thin-film interference" or TFI. Even with a degree in Physics I have a hard time understanding the math but the phenomenon is easy to demonstrate in the Pipevine Swallowtail. It is far better to see it in real life.
context_page_description: This is a list of Lepidoptera observed in the U.S. state of Utah.
  Achemon sphinx moth
  American painted lady butterfly
  American snout butterfly
  Anise swallowtail butterfly
  Aphrodite fritillary butterfly
  Arctic fritillary butterfly
  Army cutworm
  Black cutworm
  Black swallowtail butterfly
  Bordered patch butterfly
  Cabbage looper
  California patch butterfly
  California sister butterfly
  California tortoiseshell butterfly
  Callippe fritillary butterfly
  Clodius parnassian butterfly
  Common buckeye butterfly
  Compton tortoiseshell butterfly
  Corn earworm - also called the tomato fruitworm
  Coronis fritillary butterfly
  Diamondback moth
  Dotted checkerspot butterfly
  Edith's checkerspot butterfly
  Edward's fritillary butterfly
  Empress Leilia butterfly
  Fall armyworm
  Field crescent butterfly
  Five-spotted hawkmoth
  Freija fritillary butterfly
  Fulvia checkerspot butterfly
  Glassy cutworm
  Gorgone checkerspot butterfly
  Gray comma butterfly
  Great Basin fritillary butterfly
  Great spangled fritillary butterfly
  Green comma butterfly
  Gulf fritillary butterfly
  Hackberry emperor butterfly
  Hoary comma butterfly
  Hydaspe fritillary butterfly
  Indra swallowtail butterfly
  Leanira checkerspot butterfly
context_section_description: This is a list of Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) observed in the U.S. state of Utah.
  Achemon sphinx moth (Eumorpha achemon)
  American painted lady butterfly (Vanessa virginiensis)
  American snout butterfly (Libytheana carinenta)
  Anise swallowtail butterfly (Papilio zelicaon)
  Aphrodite fritillary butterfly (Speyeria aphrodite)
  Arctic fritillary butterfly (Boloria chariclea)
  Army cutworm (Euxoa auxiliaris)
  Black cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon)
  Black swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes)
  Bordered patch butterfly (Chlosyne lacinia)
  Cabbage looper (Trichoplusia ni)
  California patch butterfly (Chlosyne californica)
  California sister butterfly (Adelpha californica)
  California tortoiseshell butterfly (Nymphalis californica)
  Callippe fritillary butterfly (Speyeria callippe)
  Clodius parnassian butterfly (Parnassius clodius)
  Common buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia)
  Compton tortoiseshell butterfly (Nymphalis vaualbum)
  Corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) - also called the tomato fruitworm
  Coronis fritillary butterfly (Speyeria coronis)
  Diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella)
  Dotted checkerspot butterfly (Poladryas minuta)
  Edith's checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha)
  Edward's fritillary butterfly (Speyeria edwardsii)
  Empress Leilia butterfly (Asterocampa leilia)
  Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda)
  Field crescent butterfly (Phyciodes pulchella)
  Five-spotted hawkmoth (Manduca quinquemaculata)
  Freija fritillary butterfly (Boloria freija)
  Fulvia checkerspot butterfly (Thessalia fulvia)
  Glassy cutworm (Crymodes devastator)
  Gorgone checkerspot butterfly (Chlosyne gorgone)
  Gray comma butterfly (Polygonia progne)
  Great Basin fritillary butterfly (Speyeria egleis)
  Great spangled fritillary butterfly (Speyeria cybele)
  Green comma butterfly (Polygonia faunus)
  Gulf fritillary butterfly (Agraulis vanillae)
  Hackberry emperor butterfly (Asterocampa celtis)
  Hoary comma butterfly (Polygonia gracilis)
  Hydaspe fritillary butterfly (Speyeria hydaspe)
  Indra swallowtail butterfly (Papilio indra)
  Leanira checkerspot butterfly (Chlosyne leanira)
  Lorquin's admiral butterfly (Limenitis lorquini)
  Milbert's tortoiseshell butterfly (Aglais milberti)
  Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
  Mormon fritillary butterfly (Speyeria mormonia)
  Mourning cloak butterfly (Nymphalis antiopa)
  Mylitta crescent butterfly (Phyciodes mylitta)
  Nokomis fritillary butterfly (Speyeria nokomis)
  Northern checkerspot butterfly (Chlosyne palla)
  Northern crescent butterfly (Phyciodes cocyta)
  Northwestern fritillary butterfly (Speyeria hesperis)
  Old World swallowtail butterfly (Papilio machaon)
  Painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui)
  Pale crescent butterfly (Phyciodes pallida)
  Pale swallowtail butterfly (Papilio eurymedon)
  Pale Western cutworm (Agrotis orthogonia)
  Pallid crescentspot butterfly (Phyciodes picta)
  Pearl crescent butterfly (Phyciodes tharos)
  Pipevine swallowtail butterfly (Battus philenor)
  Queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus)
  Red admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta)
  Red-spotted purple butterfly (Limenitis arthemis astyanax)
  Relict fritillary butterfly (Boloria kriemhild)
  Rockslide checkerspot butterfly (Chlosyne whitneyi)
  Rocky Mountain parnassian butterfly (Parnassius smintheus)
  Silver-bordered fritillary butterfly (Boloria selene)
  Small white butterfly (Pieris rapae)
  Soldier butterfly (Danaus eresimus)
  Tropical buckeye butterfly (Junonia genoveva)
  Two-tailed swallowtail butterfly (Papilio multicaudata)
  Variable checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas chalcedona)
  Variegated cutworm (Peridroma saucia)
  Variegated fritillary butterfly (Euptoieta claudia)
  Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus)
  Weidemeyer's admiral butterfly (Limenitis weidemeyerii)
  West Coast lady butterfly (Vanessa annabella)
  Western bean cutworm (Striacosta albicosta)
  Western tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio rutulus)
  White admiral butterfly (Limenitis arthemis)
  White peacock butterfly (Anartia jatrophae)
  White-lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata)
  Zerene fritillary butterfly (Speyeria zerene)
caption: Pipevine swallowtail
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