The larval food plants.
Indra Swallowtail butterfly LFPs are restricted to perennials in the family Apiaceae. Of the many apiaceous plants in Western North America, Indra Swallowtails use just a hand full-currently 21 are documented, barring any mistakes in identification. Utah alone has over 70 apiaceous species and just 9 of these are documented LFPs, with only 7 being used on a regular basis.
From over 2,000 herbarium records, I have determined the ranges of these 21 LFPs and listed them by state and by Indra subspecies (unpublished manuscript). Of the 21 species, twelve have very limited distributions, several of these being restricted to a single county (or two) within a state. California has the most endemic LFPs (4) used by this butterfly. These are indicated below with an asterisk by the plant's scientific name. California also has the most Indra races (7 of the 12). California and Utah have the most documented Indra LFPs within their borders-8 and 9 respectively.
Shown below are photographs of the LFPs as an aid for identification in the field. Most of these plants contain highly aromatic oils, the majority of which are pleasant. For example, Lomatium parryi smells like a mix of pine needles and citrus and Cymopterus terebinthinus is similar, except with a stronger citrus-like bouquet. Lomatium junceum has an obvious pine scent, while L. grayi var. depauperatum and L. californicum both smell like celery. Cymopterus hendersonii has an anise scent. Familiarization with the aromas of many of these plants will aid in their identification.
Let's now look at the ranges of these plants along with photographs of each species.|
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| Plant Range Map I |
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| Lomatium brandegei (Brandegee's Desertparsley) (dark green on map) Cascade Range, northern Washington, 1 August 2002. |
Lomatium brandegei (Brandegee's Desertparsley) (dark green on map) Cascade Range, northern Washington, 1 August 2002. | |
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| Lomatium brandegei (Brandegee's Desertparsley) (close-up of a leaf) Cascade Range, northern Washington, 1 August 2002. |
Lomatium
brandegei Cascade Range, Washington, 26 July 1968. (Photo by Dave McCorkle) |
L.
parryi (Parry's Desert- parsley) (light green) On Navajo Sandstone |
Lomatium parryi is a widely used plant, and when
found there is usually an Indra population associated with it. It appears to be
one of the more preferred LFPs. Captive 1st through 5th
instars from any population will readily switch to it.
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| L. parryi (in flower mid-March) | L. parryi It has a sweet pine scent! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| L. parryi | L.
parryi(close-up) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| L. junceum (Rush Biscuitroot)(yellow) Endemic to Utah, mostly in the San Rafael Swell and barely into Capital Reef Natl. Park (Wayne Co.). | L. junceum with an early 5th instar of P. i. minori | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| L. junceum and close-up of the same 5th instar of minori | L. graveolens (King's Desert-parsley) (pink) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The photo above shows a field of graveolens growing in the tops of the Wasatch Range, UT at over 9,000 feet. It is a high elevation species (7000 to near 11,000 feet). This species also appears to be a good LFP for rearing purposes. First through 5th instars from any Indra population will readily switch to it. L. graveolens is listed as L. nuttallii in Butterflies of North America by Scott.
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| L. graveolens in full bloom | L. graveolens with 2nd instars | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| L. eastwoodiae (Eastwood's Desert-parsley) (lavender). Endemic to Mesa,Delta and possibly Garfield Cos., CO. | L. marginatum* (Butte Desert-parsley)(orange) Endemic to California. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| L. howellii (Howell's Biscuitroot)(dark blue) Very limited range at the California - Oregon border. | Harbouria trachypleura (Whiskbroom Parsley) (turquoise) Limited to a thin corridor along the Front Range of Colorado & Wyoming. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Cymopterus panamintensis var.acutifolius* (Panamint Spring-parsley) (light blue) A California endemic. | Tauschia arguta* (Southern Umbrellawort)(red) With a wonderful aroma which is not easily described. Another California endemic. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| T. arguta Amongst granite boulders | T. arguta | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T. arguta close-up with a 5th instar P. i. pergamus |
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