Sexual dimorphism?


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	Sexual dimorphism? I caught this pair of Pipevine Swallowtails mating in the garden Tuesday. Although clearly the same species, the striking blue band on the top butterfly makes me think that Pipevine Swallowtails are sexually dimorphic. On the other hand, it's just as likely that the bottom butterfly is merely older and faded from a hard life. The Polyphemus Moth I posted about in July was a prime example of how tattered and faded the wings of butterflies and moths can become after a few months of flapping around and evading predators. Whatever the explanation, I appreciate these butterflies holding still and letting me snap a shot. Thanks for reminding me to pause my incessant weeding and take in the world's beauty. Microbusiness Independence gives you time to explore the world. Want to be notified when new comments are posted on this page? Click on the RSS button after you add a comment to subscribe to the comment feed. RSS From the experts at Bug Guide: "The males tend to have the yellow spots more reduced above, and to have more reflective blue scaling on both sides. The angle of the photo may cause one to look more blue than the other too, since it is reflective coloring, and it doesn't show up the same from different angles. Both genders a little variable in markings though, so it's not always easy to tell them apart by pattern alone. They do tend to loose some of the blue as they fade too, but these two both look pretty pristine to me. Upper one is male, lower is female." Comment by anna — Wed Aug 25 10:41:40 2010 Remove comment Add a comment