Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

1. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Breanna Shoemaker

2. Introduction • The Tiger Swallowtail is one of the many species of butterflies in Kentucky. • It’s known for its bright yellow color in males, with black tiger-like stripes, hence the name “tiger swallowtail.”

3. Conventional wisdom suggests that weather conditions influence the size of insects. • Alexander Klots indicates that weather conditions influence food availability and therefore size of butterflies.

4. My research will examine weather patterns and itseffects on the size of the butterfly.

5. Methodology • Catch and euthanize 45-50 butterflies to be measured. (using a long butterfly net) • Record morphological measurements of both male and female Swallowtails. (and other species) • Determine an average size of males and females using a multi-variant approach. • Determine the wing loading aspect of each individual. • Examine weather variables (precipitation, temperature, humidity etc.).

6. Progress • I have caught and pinned all my butterflies. • All my butterflies have been identified and organized in petri dishes and display cases. • The morphological measurements such as wing length, wing area, and weight have been taken for each specimen. • Averages for each measurement have been calculated for each species. • The wing loading aspect has been calculated

7. Results

8. Average weight in grams

9. Average wing area in mm2

10. Wing loading aspect in g/mm2 (x10,000)

11. Average summer temperatures http://average-temperature.weatherdb.com/l/10607/Greenville-Kentucky

12. Average summer precipitation • The average summer precipitation levels for the summer is 10.82 inches. • http://average-rainfall.weatherdb.com/l/10798/Greenville-Kentucky

13. Tools

14. The End