Florida-endemic-subspecies

Guides

• Papilio troilus

  Spicebush Swallowtail, Green-clouded Butterfly

  Papilio troilus, the spicebush swallowtail, is a black swallowtail butterfly native to eastern North America. Adults are primarily black with distinctive green-blue (male) or bright blue (female) half-moon markings on the hindwings, along with cream-yellow spots and orange basal patches. The species exhibits two subspecies: the widespread P. t. troilus and the Florida-endemic P. t. ilioneus. Larvae are notable for their dramatic ontogenetic color change, shifting from bird-dropping mimicry in early instars to snake-mimicry with large eyespots in later stages.

  butterflyswallowtailmimicryspecialist-herbivoreLauraceaesnake-mimicrybird-dropping-mimicryseasonal-polyphenismNorth-AmericaFlorida-endemic-subspecies

• Strymon acis

  Bartram's scrub-hairstreak, Caribbean Scrub-Hairstreak

  Strymon acis is a small lycaenid butterfly with a wingspan of 22–29 mm, occurring in southern Florida and the West Indies. The subspecies S. a. bartrami, restricted to southern Florida, is federally listed as Endangered under the United States Endangered Species Act. The species is tightly associated with pine rockland habitats and depends on Croton linearis as its larval host plant.

  endangeredpine-rocklandfire-dependent-ecosystemspecialist-herbivoreFlorida-endemic-subspecies