Size:
Wingspan is 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 inches.

Similar Species:
Pipevine Swallowtail
Female Diana Fritillary (rare)

Habitat:
Hardwood forest borders, clearings, wooded yards and gardens.

Range/Abundance:
Common and widespread.

Flight Period:
Adults fly from mid April until late October in three broods with gaps between broods.

Larval Host Plants:
Black Cherry, Prunus serotina, Choke Cherry, P. virginiana, Willows including Black Willow Salix nigra, Quaking Aspen Populus tremuloides, Big-toothed Aspen P. grandidentata, Cottonwood P. deltoides and Serviceberry Amelanchier spp.

Comments:
Red-spotted Purples sometimes nectar on flowers and also can be found on tree sap, carrion and rotten fruit.

This species can easily be baited with melon rinds or any rotten fruit. I once placed a half of a papaya out in the yard and the next day I counted 22 Red-spotted Purples on it!

Some years you might find good numbers of this species hill topping or sunning on quiet gravel roads.

The top and third photos were taken in Orange Co., NC on August 12, 2000. The second photo was taken in Bedford Co., VA on July 13, 2002. The bottom photo was taken in Durham Co., NC on July 10, 2004.

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