This week's butterfly is found in Cuba and is sometimes called the Cuban Swallowtail. It's also sometimes called Poey's Swallowtail, after the naturalist who first described it. He gave it the official name caiguanabus, from Caiguanabo, a place name meaning "big plantation." The place name is pronounced as spelled in Spanish so the butterfly's name should logically be Kye-gwah-NAH-boos.
Photo by Tim Norriss .https://www.butterfliesofcuba.com/blog/day-9-24-june-guanahacabibes-national-park
This butterfly is hard to find even in Cuba, so its conservation status is unclear. We know there aren't many of H. caiguanabus; we don't know exactly how many there are, or whether there could be more. A few butterflies of this species have been seen in Florida or Mexico.
Photo by Dayronbreto.Males often show more yellow and brown color, as above, while females are more likely to look white and black or even iridesce blue-green; in some lights their pale spots may look light blue. Females may be slightly larger than males and may have either longer or shorter tails.
Photo by Alex835.
Tails, and parts of the hind wings, are sometimes missing.This may indicate that the individual survived an attack by a predator. Then again some females just don't have very long tails.
Photo by Alex835.
The patterning on the neck, especially noticeable in the male, identifies this species.
Flying adults are seen from April through September at altitudes lower than 1000 feet above sea level. They are often seen sipping nectar from flowers in the genera Lantana, Tournefortia, Ixora, and others.
The caterpillar can look black from above, brown and white from the side, in what is probably its fifth caterpillar skin, just before pupation. The white markings do not meet across the top side to form a "saddle" or "girdle" as they do for some Swallowtail caterpillars. Caterpillars have been successfully reared on Securinega acidothamnus, a plant in the Euphorbia family, and on Zanthoxylum.
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