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The Palamedes Swallow-Tail (Papilio palamedes Pa-pil'i-o)

Papilio palamedes (Pa-pil'i-o pal-a-me'des) PLATE VII, FIG. I This species is found in the southern half of the United States, east of the Mississippi. It resembles to a great extent in color and markings the black swallow-tail (Plate IV, Fig. 4); but it is a much larger insect, expanding from four inches to four and six-tenths inches, and differs in markings as follows. The yellow band near the middle of the hind wings is barely if at all interrupted by black on the veins; and the orange-colored spot near the anal angle has not a black center. On the thorax and head there is a yellow line extending from the tip of the patagia to the base of the front legs, encircling the inner edge of the eye, and including the palpi.

CATERPILLAR. -The last two thoracic and the first abdominal segments are enlarged. The body is pale velvety green in color, specked and marked with lighter green. It is buff below. The eye-spots on the third thoracic segment are black, and have a glassy black pupil in a circle of orange. Scentorgans yellowish brown. Food-plants.-Magnolia, Persea, sassafras.

Palamedes looks like a giant male of the black swallow-tail, as its wings are black and are margined and banded with yellow spots. The habits of the butterfly are graphically described thus by Dr. Wittfield. "Palamedes roosts on the highest tree it can find, oak or palmetto. I have seen four to six near sundown fluttering about the tree where they finally settle and remain. Sometimes three or four rest on one palmetto leaf with spread wings."

The caterpillar behaves very much like that of troilus, folding the leaf together and holding it there with silken threads crossed, and hiding within. However, it differs from troilus in this respect, that it eats the leaf of which the nest is made until it is too small for protection and then it moves on to another leaf. This species is confined to the southern half of the United States, east of the Mississippi. In the more southern part of its range there are at least three broods annually; and the winter is passed by both larvæ and chrysalids.