Papilio rutulus

Resident in western North America (Scott 1986). Habitats are DECIDUOUS WOODED AREAS. Host plants include species from many families. Hosts are shrubs or trees. Eggs are laid on the host plant singly. Individuals overwinter as pupae. There are multiple flights each year with the approximate flight time JUN1-AUG30 in the northern part of the range and MAR1-SEP30 in the southern part of their range (Scott 1986). Listed as a subspecies of Papilio glaucus by some sources (Scott, 1986).

In Alberta, this species is likely to be encountered only in the southern mountains south of the Crowsnest Pass, where the very similar Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (P. canadensis) also flies. The Western Tiger has yellow rather than red crescents along the margin of the hindwing underside, has a thicker black cap to the orange spot in the hindwing anal spot, and has a predominantly black rather than yellow forewing fringe.

Ranges from southern BC south throughout the western US (Opler 1999). The first confirmed Alberta specimen of this species was collected by Ted Pike in the Castle River region in 2002 (B.C. Schmidt, unpubl. data).

occurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: (>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)) West of Rocky Mountains, from British Columbia south to Baja California.

Montane woodlands and along water courses.

Comments: General in wooded areas, normally near moisture. Typical habitats include wooded areas near streams and rivers and wooded residential areas.

Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

The Adults are avid flower visitors and males often mud-puddle (Guppy & Shepard 2001). Larvae feed on a variety of shrubs in B.C., including alder, apple, birch, cherry, poplar and willows (Guppy & Shepard 2001).

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: 81 to >300

10,000 to >1,000,000 individuals

feed mainly from nectar or carrion. Males patrol for females (Scott, 1986).

One yearly flight, peaking in June.

The eggs are smooth, green and round, laid singly on the host plant (Pyle 2002). Mature larvae are velvety green with a pair of yellow-rimmed eyespots and a yellow stripe on the mid-thoracic segment (Pyle 2002). The tan and brown-streaked pupa overwinters (Pyle 2002). This species tends to have an extended emergence period and a longer lifespan than smaller species (Pyle 2002).

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.

There are 4 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.  Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.  See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.

Download FASTA File

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 3
Specimens with Barcodes: 22
Species With Barcodes: 1

Not of concern.

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Degree of Threat: D : Unthreatened throughout its range, communities may be threatened in minor portions of the range or degree of variation falls within natural variation

Biological Research Needs: None.

Global Protection: Many to very many (13 to >40) occurrences appropriately protected and managed

Needs: None.