eastern tiger swallowtail

eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

CONFIRMATION STATUS: Confirmed.

FAMILY: Parnassians and Swallowtails (Papilionidae)
SUBFAMILY: Swallowtails (Papilioninae)

IDENTIFICATION: Male is yellow with dark tiger stripes. Female has 2
forms: one yellow like the male and the other black with shadows of dark
stripes. Hindwing of both female forms has many iridescent blue scales
and an orange marginal spot. On the underside of forewing of both female
forms the row of marginal spots has merged into a continuous band.

LIFE HISTORY: Males patrol for receptive females. Females lay eggs

singly on host leaves. Caterpillars eat leaves and rest on silken mats in

shelters of curled leaves. Chrysalids overwinter.

FLIGHT: 3 flights from February-November in Deep South; 2 flights

from May-September in north.

WING SPAN: 3 5/8 - 6 1/2 inches (9.2 - 16.5 cm).

CATERPILLAR HOSTS: Leaves of various plants including wild cherry
(Prunus), sweetbay (Magnolia), basswood (Tilia), tulip tree (Liriodendron),

birch (Betula), ash (Fraxinus), cottonwood (Populus), mountain ash (Sor-

bus), and willow (Salix).

ADULT FOOD: Nectar of flowers from a variety of plants including wild
cherry and lilac (Syringa vulgaris).

HABITAT: Deciduous broadleaf woods, forest edges, river valleys, parks,
and suburbs.

RANGE: Eastern North America from Ontario south to Gulf coast, west
to Colorado plains and central Texas.

CONSERVATION: Not required.

NATURESERVE GLOBAL STATUS: G5 - Demonstrably secure glob-

ally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the
periphery.

MANAGEMENT NEEDS: None noted.

SKY MEADOWS OCCURRENCE:

Note: Due to seasonal conditions in this region, occurrence may vary from

year to year. The designation of occurrence may range over two or more

categories and may vary even during a single season.

Key to Checklist

A   Abundant: Easy to see very large numbers of individuals in appropriate habitat
      at proper time of year.
C   Common: Usually each to see good numbers of individuals in appropriate habitat
      at proper time of year.
U   Uncommon: Sometimes found in appropriate habitat and proper time of year,
      usually in low numbers.
O   Occasional: Found in appropriate habitat perhaps only a few times a year, usually
      in low numbers.
R   Rare: Small chance of being found, even in appropriate habitat at proper time of
      year. There are few individuals and may not be present every year.
X   Extirpated: Formerly present, no longer occurs in Sky Meadows Park.