Friday, August 17, 2012

Zebra Longwing in Burton

I have been seeing Zebra Longwings in Burton.  They are rare visitors, so I'm really happy to see them.  The stripes are not white, they are a yellowish-green color.  They are smaller than the black swallowtails and Giant Swallowtails.  They are about the size of Gulf Fritillaries.
 They seem to spend more time in the shady parts of the yard than the other butterflies do.  An interesting factoid:  The males are very aggressive in their mating habits.  It is not uncommon for them to stake out a chrysalis of a female pupae (they can somehow distinguish between males and females inside the chrysalis), and just as the butterfly is about to emerge the male will break the surface of the chrysalis and mate with the female.  Before the female's wings are even dry!





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