Hobbies And Interests
Pre-Mating
The mating rituals for all butterfly varieties are still mysterious to scientists. The male and female will engage in flying "dances" during the selection period. Often female butterflies that have already mated are unlikely to mate again. For this reason, male butterflies seek out female butterflies that have recently emerged from the pupa stage (known as chrysalis). Male butterflies are often spotted looking for freshly emerged females among vegetation in the early morning.
Mating
When a male finally finds a female willing to mate with him, he will chase her down forcing her to land. During this time, he will fan his wings to spread his pheromone over the female. He then twists his abdomen toward the back end of the female. He will also taste her pheromone exerted from her posterior. If this process is successful, she allows him to connect to her as they both face the same direction. When completely connected, he turns to face away from her. During this time, her fertilizes her eggs.
Post-Mating
When the male and female have finished mating, the female tiger swallowtail butterfly will lay her eggs on host plants. This parasitic relationship between the butterfly and the host plant is intended to help feed a newly hatched caterpillar in the early days of its life. Host plants for the tiger swallowtail butterfly include yellow poplar, black willow, black cherry, red maple, American hornbeam, spicebush, American elm and sassafras.
Hatching
Three to five days later, the egg will hatch a caterpillar, which resembles bird poop. This serves to protect the newly hatched, vulnerable caterpillar.