Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

The eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus), is one of our most recognizable butterflies. You can usually identify it by its large size and bright yellow color with black tiger stripes. Males and most females (such as the one pictured) are the bright yellow form with orange and blue highlights. However, there is also a dark form female, where the yellow is replaced by black.

After mating, female tiger swallowtails lay eggs on leaves of host plants. Host plants, tulip tree, black willow, black cherry, American hornbeam, red maple, spicebush, American elm, and sassafras, are the plants that caterpillars will eat. When caterpillars first hatch, the coloration is much like bird poop. This helps camouflage them. As they get older, they turn green with a large head and bright eyespots. The eyespots aren't really eyes. They are probably there to scare away predators, or to make them attack the wrong part of the caterpillar.

When caterpillars are fully grown, they will then become pupae (resting stage). The name for a butterfly pupa is chrysalis . An adult eastern tiger swallowtail emerges from of the chrysalis in a couple of weeks. If the weather is getting cold, the butterfly might wait until the following Spring to emerge. The chrysalis of this species is greenish-brown, and a little over an inch long.

The eastern tiger swallowtail is found all over, especially near water, but also in meadows , gardens, parks, and roadsides. Adults drink nectar from flowers . They visit many plants, both wild native plants and garden flowers. Some of those flowers include milkweeds, thistles, Japanese honeysuckle, ironweed, and red clover.

This butterfly has many bird predators. Other animals will eat the caterpillars, including squirrels, raccoons, and shrews.

Text modified from "The Study of Northern Virginia Ecology" web site. Today's photos are by WPC Volunteer John Karian.

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