Complete Guide To The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Images
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Papilio glaucus (yellow form female). Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Papilio glaucus (dark form female). Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Papilio glaucus (male). Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Papilio glaucus (yellow form female). Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Papilio glaucus (yellow form female). Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Papilio glaucus (yellow form female). Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Papilio glaucus (yellow form female). Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Papilio glaucus (yellow form female). Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
How To Identify Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies
- Wingspan: 3.0 – 5.5 inches (7.6 – 14 cm)
- Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies come in three forms:
- Males
- Yellow form females
- Dark form females
- Above:
- Males and yellow form females are yellow butterflies and have black tiger stripes on their forewings.
- Dark form females have dark forewings that may or may not show faint black tiger stripes.
- Both yellow and black form females have more blue scaling on their wings than males.
- Below:
- Males and yellow form females have black tiger stripes on their forewings.
- Dark form females have dark forewings that may or may not show faint black tiger stripes.
- Each hind wing has a long tail.
- Dark form females resemble a cousin swallowtail species, the Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor).
- Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies are extremely toxic to predators; most butterfly predators actively avoid attacking them.
- Dark-morph Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies likely gain protection from predators by mimicking their smaller, dangerous cousin.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly Papilio glaucus labelled with field marks that identify the species. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly Papilio glaucus labelled with field marks that identify the species. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
How To Find Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies
- Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies are among the easiest species to spot in the wild thanks to their large size, abundance, and preference for nectar from a huge variety of wild and cultivated flowers.
- Flight Season: Late March to late October.
- Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies are “edge habitat specialists”. Look for them in the areas between meadows and forests.
- More individuals are likely to be along the edges of flowery meadows and forests at any given time of day (Siu et al. 2016) than deep in either area.
- These yellow butterflies are strong fliers and fly higher than many other butterflies.
- When spooked, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies fly towards the woods and up into the trees to hide amongst the canopy.
- Adult Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies eat nectar from flowers with long petals and seem to prefer red, pink, and purple flowers (Daniels 2003).
- North Carolina wildflowers that serve as nectar sources for this species include:
- Butter Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
- Wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis)
- North Carolina wildflowers that serve as nectar sources for this species include:
- Other flowers from which they feed include:
- Wild Bergamot (Monarda stulosa)
- Hairy Beardtongue (Penstemone hirutus)
- Dwarf Blazing Star (Liatris cylandracea)
- Winter Vetch (Vicia villosa)
- Clovers (Trifolium spp.)
- Bouncing Bet (Saponaria oficianalis)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Classification
|
Phylum |
Arthropoda |
|
Class |
Insecta |
|
Order |
Lepidoptera |
|
Family |
Papilionidae (Swallowtail and Parnassian Butterflies) |
|
Genus |
Papilio |
|
Species |
P. glaucus |
Binomial Name |
Papilio glaucus |
