Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon)

In coloration, the Anise Swallowtail is a cross between a Tiger Swallowtail and a Black Swallowtail. It is about the size of a Black Swallowtail.

Even though their adult apearance is quite different, the Anise and Black Swallowtails are closely related. Their larva are nearly identical and are found on the same host plants.

Click on any of the thumbnails to get a larger picture.

	These are more pictures of the adult Anise Swallowtail. We haven't figured out how to sex them yet, other than looking for the male claspers at the end of the abdomen. The underwing is very similar to a Tiger Swallowtail.
To the right is a picture of the anise pupa. You can also see the discarded skins from two of the caterpillars. As with many swallowtails, there is both a light and dark form for the pupa. The difference seems to be random, and has no correlation with the butterfly being male or female. There is also a whitish form of chrysalis with the Anise that we haven't found with the Black Swallowtail.
	The larva feeds mainly on fennel in its natural habitat (hence it's name, which comes from the scientific name for fennel). It will also take dill, parsely, carrot, and queen ann's lace. Some books report that the Anise will also eat citrus and parsnip.
Believe it or not, these are pictures of two species of butterfly larva. The one on the right is the Anise Swallowtail. On the left is the Black Swallowtail. Although it does not show up well in this photo, the Black Swallowtail tends to have a bit more orange coloration, but you'd never be able to tell if you saw them separately. Given that both larva are prone to color differences on the larva makes it virtually impossible to tell the larva apart.
The amazing part is that the adults are so different, as seen below where the Black Swallowtail is on the left and the Anise on the right.