Late Zebra Swallowtail in West Virginia USA

[Will Cook]

Rob Hilton wrote:
> 
> A friend emailed me today, November 13, and said:
> 
> "My son and I hiked to the top of North Fork Mountain in Hardy County
> this past Saturday.  While we were up there (about 3800 feet) a Zebra
> Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus) flew by.  Isn't it rather late in the
> year for them and isn't that almost too high for them?  Three of the
> guides I referenced showed that Zebras weren't around past September.
> Glasberg showed a very thin line into Oct., but nothing past that.  I
> still wanted someone's opinion though who was familiar with the area."
> 
> Has anybody seen the species this late or that high?  I only know the
> butterfly from the area around Washington, DC, which is not far above
> sea level, where I normally see it in April/May and around July.


Amazingly late sighting! For what it's worth, the latest report for
Zebra Swallowtail in North Carolina is September 21 - they normally
peter out by the end of August.  They are rare in the mountains of NC at
any time of year. Source: http://www.ncsparks.net/butterfly/nbnc.html

-- 
Charles W. "Will" Cook                  w 919-660-7423
http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook            cwcook at duke.edu
Biology Dept., Duke Univ., Box 90340, Durham, NC 27708

 
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