swallowtail species AND subspecies not known from
east of the Mississippi river (which essentially divides)
the contiguous U.S into east/west. Surprisingly, there
are a number of arid locality species/subspecies found
in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and southern California.
The stark conditions and remoteness where these desert
swallowtails are found challenges even the most intrepid
of collectors. Danger lurks out there and the potential of
being snake-bit, low on water, losing direction, running
across "bad" people, running out of gas, having no cell-phone
service --- are just some of the maladies which can befall you.
Hence, your a pretty hardy AND brave soul to pursue this passion
in such places. I would place such an individual right up there
with some of the great Aurelian collectors who first collected
the jungle swaths of South America and southeast Asia.
Recently, I had the extreme pleasure of examining and choosing
out some choice western papilio specimens from a private collection.
The collection represented 35 yrs. of passion and steadfast
dedication to collecting and breeding (where possible) -- desert
swallowtail species.
The specimen below is a top-notch bred example of Papilio polyxenes
rudkini which was raised from a wild collected female. It comes
from the Brian Banker collection which is the "finest" collection of
western desert papilio's that I've ever had priviledge to see. His data was
extensive (as seen in photo) AND was present on every single specimen !!
I would also add that he had some exceptional prep skills and his
holdings were a testament to this passionate collector/breeder who
was definitely on another level !
