Swallowtail butterflies are known to be heavily dependent upon chemical cues when searching for and identifying host plants. The pipevine swallowtail, Battus philenor, is no exception, and female butterflies are known to respond to aristolochic acids, pinitol, and a lipid from its hosts in the genus Aristolochia. Female lines originating in Texas, Virginia, and Arizona were tested in no–choice situations with the plant species local to each line, as well as the plant species local to each of the other two populations. Both whole plants and extracts were presented to female butterflies, and the results were compared within and between populations.
Species 1: Lepidoptera Papilionidae Battus philenor (pipevine swallowtail butterfly)
Keywords: Aristolochiaceae
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