What is white with black stripes and has wings?
Was that a zebra flying by? Was that a little skunk that sailed by my window? Did you know a white butterfly with black stripes flutters around the east half of the U.S.? The zebra swallowtail butterfly flies at about eye level. It is striped white and black like a zebra.
A closer look shows more than just white and black colors…it’s also red and blue!
When the wings are open, this butterfly will show off its white and black stripes. Red spots can be seen at the end of the body, close to the tails.
When the wings are closed, there is a bit of a surprise! Under each hind wing, there will be a red stripe.
Blue spots are found close to the tail at the end of the red stripe. It is common for butterflies to have something different on each side of their wings.
But why would a butterfly even have tails?
Two long tails behind this butterfly cannot be missed. Eyes are pulled away from the butterfly’s body to the tails. This might help protect it from predators. The tails might be mistaken for the head and antennae. An attack from a predator might miss the head and other body parts, snatching away the tails instead. The tails might also help butterflies glide in flight.
Where can this flying zebra be found?
The zebra swallowtail butterfly can be found around streams and rivers with forests nearby. Sometimes, this butterfly may leave this habitat to look for food. From Missouri, east to New Jersey, south to Florida, and across the southern states to Texas, this butterfly will look for pawpaw trees where it will lay its eggs. Pawpaw trees grow in these wet habitats close to steams or rivers. The zebra swallowtail butterfly is the state butterfly of Tennessee. (For map, see below for link to inaturalist.org)
What is a pawpaw tree?
Pawpaw trees will look like large shrubs or small trees and grow fruit shaped like a short, fat banana. The zebra swallowtail caterpillar is picky about what it eats and only munches down on pawpaw tree leaves. So the mother zebra swallowtail butterfly will only lay her eggs on pawpaw tree leaves. (For pawpaw photos, see below for link to mdc.mo.gov, scroll down to the media gallery)
Do butterflies eat their lunch?
Not quite. They have a mouth part called a proboscis (proh bah sus), like a straw. In the photo above, look between the eyes of the zebra swallowtail butterfly and down. The black tube of the proboscis is drawing nectar, a sweet liquid, from the milkweed flower. So, butterflies drink a liquid lunch. The proboscis can be seen in most of these photos. The adults zebra butterflies love chowing on milkweed, zinnia, lilac, and redbud.
Have you ever seen a butterfly sitting on moist animal poop?
Some small butterflies and the male adult zebra swallowtail butterflies like to eat with their buddies sitting around a mud puddle or on the stream bank. They are not sipping nectar. They are sipping salt and other minerals through their mouth straws or proboscises. Similar “goodies” can be found in a poop pile. When butterflies gather around a mud puddle or to eat poop, it is called puddling or sometimes mud puddling.
Extra!
Those six legs are a light green color. The two antennae are red and sport little club ends. Plus, the body’s got some cool black and white stripes going on. And let’s not forget about that eye! Butterflies can see everything around them at the same time and have great color vision. The craziest thing? A butterfly sees the world like a bunch of still pictures instead of a movie!
Now you have a comeback to the puzzling riddle: what is white with black stripes and has wings?
Backstory
The zebra swallowtail butterflies are visiting our place early in June. They come out of the woods where there is a wet spring and cross the road to our place. They are looking for the bright orange flower of the milkweed plant in a grassy area in our yard. Next May, I will fill a puddling tray with wet sand, rotted oranges, and bananas for the male adult zebra butterflies. It will be a yummy dessert!
Literacy Training
Pronunciation if New Words:
In these stories, a new word might be followed by syllables within a set of parentheses. This can assist in the pronunciation of the new word. It is also fun and helpful to Google the pronunciation of the word and listen to the correct pronunciation online.
Glossary:
antennae – a pair of slim moving sensory organs on the head of an insect
habitat – the normal place where an animal lives
liquid – flows freely like water
nectar – a thick and sweet sap made by plants and found in blooms
predator – an animal that kills and eats other animals
proboscis – a long flexible snout
puzzling – difficult to understand or solve
“Antenna.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antenna. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.
“Habitat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/habitat. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.
“Liquid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liquid. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.
“Nectar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nectar. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.
“Predator.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/predator. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.
“Proboscis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proboscis. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Comprehension Questions:
- What colors are found on a zebra swallowtail butterfly?
- What is the pattern on the body of the zebra swallowtail butterfly?
- What is the only plant leaf that zebra swallowtail caterpillars eat?
- What other animals on our planet are white and black?
- Why would the zebra swallowtail butterfly leave a wet wooded area?
- Why might butterflies have tails?
- What is interesting to you about how a butterfly sees?
- What is puddling or mud puddling in the butterfly world?
- Why might it be important if a predator missed the head and ate the tail?
- How might two tails be helpful to a butterfly in flight?
Resources:
https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/358022
https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/pawpaw
https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/butterfly-and-moth/352890
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Eurytides_marcellus
https://www.butterfliesathome.com/zebra-swallowtail-butterfly.htm
All photographs are mine. All rights reserved.
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