Papilio zelicaon

Anise Swallowtail

As with P. rutulus and P. eurymedon, this is a swallowtail of the western United States. And like those two, it was collected in California by Pierre Lorquin during the gold rush and sent to Paris, where it was described by Boisduval, though Lucas has priority of authorship (see the pages for those butterflies for more on that). Unlike those two, it is closely related to P. machaon, P. polyxenes and P. indra in the genus Papilio. Rutulus, eurymedon, and multicaudata are in the genus Pterourus.

The anise swallowtail is sometimes seen in the suburbs, and I've been able to raise some on dill and fennel in the garden. It's a very cool little swallowtail, and not at all common in my own yard, so I get excited when I see it, which is definitely not every year. I don't know how much that has to do with the amount of carrot-family plants in the garden or in the area generally - I don't always grow them. It can also be found in the wild, and can be confused with the closely-related Papilio polyxenes coloro where they overlap. Knowing where you are is a good clue: coloro is more of a desert swallowtail than zelicaon, which prefers cooler climes. A good way to tell them apart is by looking at the underside of the hind wing: where the large pale area meets black, polyxenes has orange scaling, which is reduced in zelicaon. In the ventral photos above you can see a bit of orange scaling in two of the cells.

In the 1998 Systematics publication (p.78), Emmel, Emmel, and Mattoon resticted the type locality to San Francisco.

Anise Swallowtail - Papilio zelicaon
Anise swallowtail in my garden, July 10, 2006. These are occasional visitors to the garden, and I hope to raise some in the future on parsley.
Anise Swallowtail - Papilio zelicaon
This is the first anise swallowtail I ever saw, so I was pretty excited. At Malibu Creek, July 26, 2005.
Anise Swallowtail - Papilio zelicaon
Another one, again in the garden on July 10, 2006.
Anise Swallowtail - Papilio zelicaon
Same as above, dorsal close-up.
Anise Swallowtail - Papilio zelicaon
Ventral close-up of the same one.
Anise Swallowtail larva - Papilio zelicaon
Anise swallowtail larva on dill in my backyard. The early instars resemble bird droppings. July 19, 2009.
Anise Swallowtail larva - Papilio zelicaon
Another anise swallowtail larva, this one probably a fourth instar, on fennel in the garden. July 26, 2009.
Anise Swallowtail larva - Papilio zelicaon
Papilio zelicaon larva on fennel in my garden in Long Beach. This may be early in the fifth instar. September 9, 2011. I need to raise these again and better document the different instars; they can change somewhat even within instars, so lots to photograph.
Anise Swallowtail larva - Papilio zelicaon
A mature fifth instar. On fennel in my garden in Long Beach. July 19, 2009.
Anise Swallowtail larva - Papilio zelicaon
Pupa of an anise swallowtail in my garden. August 1, 2009.
Original description of Papilio zelicaon by Henry Lucas
Pierre-Hippolyte Lucas described this swallowtail in 1852 in Revue et Magasin de Zoologiqie Pure et Appliquée. He also named rutulus and eurymedon in this article. These three California butterflies were collected by Lorquin and sent to Boisduval in Paris, but Lucas was first to publish. I've included the beginning of the article here, since it is worth reading.

©Dennis Walker