Everything about The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail totally explained
The
Eastern tiger swallowtail,
Papilio glaucus, is a large (12 cm wingspan)
swallowtail butterfly. It is found in the Eastern
United States, as far north as southern
Vermont, and as far West as extreme Eastern
Colorado. It flies from spring through fall, and most of the year in the southern portions of its range, where it may produce two or three broods a year. In the
Appalachian region, it's replaced by the closely-related and only recently described
Papilio appalachiensis, and in the north, it's replaced by the closely-related
Papilio canadensis. These three species can be very difficult to distinguish, and were formerly all considered to be a single species.
Adult males are yellow, with four black "tiger stripes" on each fore wing. The trailing edges of the fore and hind wings are black which is broken with yellow spots. On the medial margin of the hind wing next to the abdomen there are small red and blue spots.
There are two
morphs of adult females, a yellow and a dark one. The yellow morph is similar to the male, except that the hind wings have an area of blue between the black margin and the main yellow area. In the dark morph, most of the yellow areas are replaced with a dark gray to a black. A shadow of the "tiger stripes" can still be seen on the dark females. The dark form is more common in the Southern portions of the range, especially in areas also inhabited by the
Pipevine Swallowtail, which it seems to
mimic.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtails often rest with their wings fully spread, particularly if the sun is out.
Female lays spherical green eggs on the top of leaves of
host plants. After hatching, the caterpillars often eat the shell of their egg. The first
instars are dark and mimic bird droppings. The
larvae eat the leaves of a wide variety of
trees and
shrubs, including
cottonwood,
tulip tree,
sweet bay, and
cherry. Adults are strictly
diurnal; they start to fly towards noon and by and by return to rest throughout the afternoon (Fullard & Napoleone 2001).
It is the state
butterfly of
Georgia,
Virginia,
Alabama,
South Carolina and
Delaware.
Image gallery
Image:Papilio glaucus eggs.JPG|Two eggs on a tulip tree leaf
Image:Eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillar.JPG|First instar caterpillar
Image:Osmeterium.JPG|Second or third instar caterpillar showing osmeterium
Image:TigerSwallowtailCaterpillar.jpg|Old caterpillar
Image:Papilio glaucus.JPG|Chrysalis
Image:DSCF0560.JPG|Female in southern Maine
Image:Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Papilio glaucus 2000px.jpg|Underside of wings
Image:Swallowtail_dying.jpg|Old yellow-morph female lies dying in a pool of water
Image:Eastern tiger swallowtail.jpg|Eastern tiger swallowtail in Virginia
Image:Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Papilio glaucus Flower 2345px.jpg
Image:Dark Form Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.jpg|dark form female
Image:Pristine_Eastern_Tiger_Swallowtail.jpg|Pristine male specimen
Further Information
Get more info on 'Eastern Tiger Swallowtail'.
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