Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes or Papilio asterias). Expanse about 3 inches. Black with two conspicuous rows of yellow spots on outer half of wings, more distinct in males. On hind wings rows of blue spots or splashes between the yellow ones. Orange-red circle with black centre at inner angle of each hind wing. Under surface with markings more distinct and more orange-yellow.
Short-tailed Swallowtail (Papilio brevicauda). Much like the Black Swallowtail but generally smaller, with very short tails, and with the yellow markings more or less changed to orange. Confined to the limited region of Newfoundland and the lands bordering the Gulf of the St. Lawrence.
Palamedes Swallowtail (Papilio palamedes). Expanse 4 to 4½ inches. Much like the Black Swallowtail but considerably larger. A curved yellow line on the head back of each eye. Found only in the South.
THE WHITES, ORANGE-TIPS, AND YELLOWS
Family Pieridae
The most familiar and abundant American butterflies are classified together under the family name Pieridae, or the Pierids. Three groups or tribes of them are popularly known as the Whites, the Orange-tips, and the Yellows. Our two commonest butterflies, the White or Imported Cabbage Butterfly and the Sulphur Yellow Butterfly, are typical representatives of this family. Most of the rest, like these, are of moderate size with rounded wings which are more or less marked with black. There are six well-developed legs and the caterpillars of practically all the species are cylindrical greenish worms which under a lens are seen to be covered with short hairs. When the caterpillars are ready to change to chrysalids they spin a web of silk upon the supporting surface and just back of it, a loop of silk that serves to hold the chrysalis in place and keep it from swaying back and forth. The chrysalids are characterized by having a pointed projection on the front of the head, the rest of the body being more or less angular.
Notwithstanding their close general resemblance to their food plants, the caterpillars of this family suffer from attack by various enemies. Birds find many of them, not only eating them themselves but also using them freely for feeding the nestlings. Parasitic insects also take a heavy toll from these caterpillars. This attack of enemies is doubtless a chief reason why many of the common species are not much more destructive.