Best Swallowtail

The Emerald Swallowtail is a striking butterfly native to Asia. It’s notable for its vibrant iridescent green wings, a coloration achieved through structural color rather than pigment. This species belongs to the Papilionidae family and is particularly attractive to lepidopterists and those interest...

The Scarlet Mormon is a swallowtail butterfly found exclusively in the Philippines. It’s notable due to significant differences between males and females – the vibrant black and red coloration of the adults provides striking visual contrast. This species belongs to the Papilionidae family and is pri...

The Zebra Swallowtail butterfly is a distinctive species of lepidopteran belonging to the Papilionidae family. Its prominent black and white stripes are most notably associated with its reliance on pawpaw trees for larval development. This butterfly is common in eastern North America and serves as a...

The African Giant Swallowtail is a vast butterfly native to the tropical rainforests of Central and West Africa, notable for possessing the largest wingspan of any butterfly on the continent. The species exhibits distinct sexual dimorphism, with females being smaller and less conspicuous than the si...

The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is a widespread butterfly species native to eastern North America, easily recognized by its prominent yellow and black striped wings. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism, with females displaying a dark morph that mimics the unpalatable Pipevine Swallowtail to deter p...

The Great Yellow Mormon (*Papilio lowi*) is a large species of swallowtail butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae. It is native to Southeast Asia, specifically found in regions including Borneo, the Philippines, and Indonesia. The species exhibits extensive female polymorphism, meaning femal...

The Pipevine Swallowtail (*Battus philenor*) is a North American butterfly species belonging to the family Papilionidae. Adult butterflies are recognized by their black bodies and iridescent blue hindwings, while caterpillars consume plants from the birthwort family, such as pipevines. This diet acc...

The giant swallowtail, Papilio cresphontes, is a large butterfly native to much of the Americas and widely distributed in eastern North America. Adults have dark brown to black wings crossed by broad yellow bands, while the caterpillars resemble bird droppings and feed on plants in the citrus family...

The western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus, is a large butterfly found across western North America. Its yellow wings bear bold black tiger-like stripes, dark borders, and tail-like projections on the hindwings, making adults readily recognizable. The larvae feed on several kinds of deciduous tr...

The Old World swallowtail is a widely distributed butterfly species scientifically named Papilio machaon, inhabiting regions across Europe, Asia, and North America. It is notable for being one of the few butterfly species capable of surviving in the high Arctic environment. The butterfly is recogniz...

The Tailed Jay, scientifically known as Graphium agamemnon, is a predominantly black swallowtail butterfly adorned with distinctive green spots. It is widely distributed across tropical and subtropical regions, including South and Southeast Asia, as well as parts of Australia. This species is easily...

The Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio canadensis) is a species of butterfly native to North America, distinguished by its yellow wings patterned with distinct black stripes. It is specifically adapted to colder climates, resulting in a widespread presence across Canada, Alaska, and the northern Un...

The Spicebush Swallowtail is a dark-colored butterfly belonging to the Papilionidae family, commonly found across the eastern regions of North America. The species is distinguished by the specific dietary requirements of its larvae, which feed almost exclusively on the leaves of spicebush and sassaf...

The Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius) is a large butterfly found across southern Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia, despite its common name suggesting rarity. It features distinctive pale yellow wings with bold black tiger-like stripes and characteristic tail-like extensions on the hi...

The Two-tailed Swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata) is a large butterfly native to western North America, ranging from British Columbia to Central America. Its defining feature is the presence of two tail-like extensions on each hindwing, which are believed to distract predators from attacking the but...

The black swallowtail is a common butterfly species native to North America, ranging from southern Canada to northern South America. Adults possess predominantly black wings accented with distinct yellow markings and an orange eyespot near the tail. Females exhibit sexual dimorphism, often displayin...

The common rose, Pachliopta aristolochiae, is a swallowtail butterfly distributed across much of South and Southeast Asia. Adults are predominantly black, with white markings and red spots or crescents on the hindwings. Its caterpillars feed on Aristolochia plants and retain toxic compounds from the...

The pale swallowtail, Papilio eurymedon, is a butterfly native to western North America. It has creamy white to pale yellow wings crossed by bold black stripes, with tail-like projections and blue and red markings on the hindwings. Adults occur in woodland, mountain canyons, and riparian habitats, w...

The Lime Butterfly (Papilio demoleus) is a widespread swallowtail species found across Asia, the Middle East, and Australia. Unlike many other members of its family, it lacks the tail-like hindwing projections and relies on rapid, erratic flight. It is known as a significant agricultural pest becaus...

The Thoas Swallowtail (Heraclides thoas) is a large butterfly native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, ranging from the southern United States to Argentina. It features distinctive yellow and black patterned wings and is frequently confused with the closely related Giant Swallowta...

The Ornythion Swallowtail (Papilio ornythion) is a butterfly species native to Mexico and parts of Central America, with occasional sightings in the southern United States. It belongs to the swallowtail family Papilionidae and is predominantly yellow with broad black wing margins. The species closel...

The Anise Swallowtail, scientifically known as Papilio zelicaon, is a species of butterfly native to western North America. Recognizable by its yellow and black wing patterns, it also features blue and red eyespots on the hindwings, which serve as a defense mechanism against predators. The species r...

The Pink-spotted Swallowtail is a neotropical butterfly notable for the distinct pink hue on the spots of its dark wings, commonly found throughout Central and South America.

The Banded Peacock is an Asian swallowtail butterfly noted for the brilliant green band across its dark wings, and is commonly found across India and Sri Lanka.

The Bahamian Swallowtail is a butterfly native to the Caribbean and southern Florida, recognized by its dark wings and broad yellow bands typical of the swallowtail family.

The Androgeus Swallowtail is a striking butterfly found across Central and South America, distinguished by the bright yellow spots on its dark, broad forewings.

The Citrus Swallowtail is a common butterfly found throughout Africa, widely known as an agricultural pest due to its caterpillars' destructive feeding on citrus crops.

The Ruby-spotted Swallowtail is a Latin American butterfly recognized by the prominent, shimmering ruby-red spots on its dark hindwings, often spotted in open woodlands.

The Indra Swallowtail is a butterfly native to western North America, recognized by its black wings adorned with yellow spots, typically found in mountainous habitats.