what kind of butterfly is this?
September 19, 2009
my son took this wonerful picture of this butterfly in our backyard flower garden. i have never seen a butterfly like this one. maybe you could tell me what kind she is and how we can keep her coming back…
thanks, katy pierce
shreveport, louisiana

Giant Swallowtail

Hi Katy,
This is a Giant Swallowtail, Papilio cresphontes.  In our Los Angeles garden, this species takes nectar from lantana.  It is only in the past ten years that the Giant Swallowtail has expanded its range to include Los Angeles.  The caterpillars, known as Orange Dogs, feed on the leaves of citrus trees, so having a larval food source in your yard will help ensure that the adult butterflies will also be present.  According to BugGuide, the caterpillars also feed on the leaves of common pricklyash and common hoptree.  Since the species is native to North America, those plants were the original foods prior to the introduction of citrus.  With the cultivation of citrus trees in the warmer parts of the west, the range of the butterfly has expanded.

More Black Swallowtail on Long Island, NY
August 22, 2009
Your site was very helpful in identifying a butterfly that has been flying around Bayville NY this summer. I took two more pictures which feel free to add to that section of the site.
This is a female Black Swallowtail flying near a tomato plant, southern exposure. The pictures may not show the yellow spots at the bottom of the tail.
Barry P. from Bayville, N.Y.
Bayville, New York (North Shore of Long Island)

Thanks Barry,
The feeling of movement in your photo is a nice departure from the static images we generally post.

Hi Sirs
Just happened to be on here when your reply came in.
You are very polite about the “feeling of movement”- sorry if it’s a little blurred, but if you are able to use it, feel free. In the past, I have seen Monarch butterflies and sometimes Tiger Swallowtails, but I can’t remember seeing these Black Swallowtails in previous summers. Usually I see them at the dunes on the beach. Our house is about 100 feet from the beach, so some similarities. I can add that we had torrential rain last night so the plants are very moist. This particular butterfly was exploring (sniffing?) a tomato plant, getting very fragrant about now.
I took the picture to send to my daughter, who is in Southern Florida visiting relatives, possibly going to “Butterfly World” near Fort Lauderdale, hence I came on your site (via Google image search for “butterfly” and “Long Island”) to identify the pix before sending to her. She is a teenager now, but used to go there when she was much younger, did a project in school re rain forest in first grade, etc so maybe all this will rekindle her interest in butterflies.
Barry D Parker

Black And Blue Butterfly
July 14, 2009
I went out to a friend’s house this weekend, located in Middle Of Nowhere, Northwest Michigan, and we were followed around all day by this guy. It was up at her stables, fluttering around the mud, and didn’t seem at all bothered by the fact that we were bathing horses on top of it for almost two hours. In between horses I managed to snap a few shots and two short videos, but this was the only picture that turned out. I had to just zoom and hope since it was not very keen on holding still (thus no size indicator either). It was about as big as a monarch butterfly, and we think it is some kind of swallowtail because of the teardrop shapes on the bottoms of its wings, but I’ve only ever seen them in black and yellow around here. The underside/outside of its wings was bla ck with some rusty-orange colored markings.
Jere
Fremont, MI

Spicebush Swallowtail

Dear Jere,
You are correct about this being a Swallowtail.  It is a Spicebush Swallowtail, Papilio troilus.  It appears to be a male and he is puddling.  Sometimes newly emerged male Swallowtails and other butterflies congregate around areas of moisture.  They drink the moisture to ingest important salts and minerals.

What kind of butterfly is this?
Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 7:01 AM
I just found this butterfly in our front yard today. I’ve never seen one like it around here. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Karen
Cincinnati, Ohio

Zebra Swallowtail

Dear Karen,
In our opinion, the Zebra Swallowtail is the most elegant of the North American Swallowtails, a family graced with numerous lovely species.

Beautiful Butterfly you might be interested in
Sat, May 16, 2009 at 4:58 AM
I found this guy resting on my azeala bush a few days ago, thought he was beautiful and grabbed my camera. I have never see a butterfly like this in Long Island, NY and possible ideas?
Mary R.
Long Island

Black Swallowtail

Good Morning Mary,
We hated cropping your beautifully composed image of a female Black Swallowtail because it was such a lovely photograph, but our readership is more interested in seeing the insects as large as possible, so we eliminated much of your azalea and the fence in the background.  Female Black Swallowtails have blue markings on the lower wings while the male has only yellow spots.  The male is also smaller.

Some Type of Swallowtail Maybe??
Thu, Apr 23, 2009 at 11:13 AM
This pretty butterfly was resting on damp fur this morning and it was such a pretty shade of mint green I had to grab the camera. It had extensions on the tail similar to yellow swallowtails (we have a bunch of those right now) but he/she was much prettier. It would not spread its wings very much for me but it did have red markings near the abdomen on the wings. I live in Eastern Tennessee and today is a nice warm, sunny day. Many butterflies are fluttering about. Anyway, I’d like to know what this little guy/gal is.
Pam Balog
eastern tennessee

Zebra Swallowtail

Hi Pam,
What beautiful photos of a Zebra Swallowtail, Eurytides marcellus, puddling. Male Zebra Swallowtails take fluids from wet sand and it is believed that they need necessary minerals and electrolytes, and this is a convenient way for them to imbibe them.

Zebra Swallowtail