· even though it is known as a “ butterfly plant,” there are some species of butterflies who avoid laying their eggs on this plant. · the aristolochic acid is toxic to the butterflies but generally works more as a predator deterrent. In addition to the foul-smelling species of aristolochia that attract flies to pollinate them, other species are important for the survival of butterflies. Many species of aristolochia are eaten by the caterpillar larvae of swallowtail and other butterflies , thus making the larvae and butterflies unpalatable to most predators. · the pipevine swallowtail is blue, as are several other butterflies , which makes it confusing to identify. · we explored the extent to which the larval food demand of two specialist butterflies (sericinus montela and atrophaneura alcinous) explains their interaction on a host plant, aristolochia debilis. When the butterflies ingest the toxin, it renders them poisonous to would-be predators. The easiest way to know you have spotted a pipevine swallowtail is how they move their wings. It is thus the sepals that attract pollinating insects. In the case of these butterflies , they have learned to associate the smell of the aristolochia with danger. The severity of dutchman’s pipe toxicity varies among the cultivars.
