Attributes of Papilio multicaudata

Two-tailed Swallowtail
Papilio multicaudata W.F. Kirby, 1884

Family: Papilionidae
Subfamily: Papilioninae
Identification: Upper surface of male forewing with narrow black stripes. Each hindwing has 2 tails.
Wing Span: 3 1/2 - 5 inches (9 - 12.7 cm).
Life History: Males patrol stream courses or city streets for receptive females. Eggs are laid singly on leaves of host plant. Caterpillars eat leaves and rest on silken mats in shelters of curled leaves. Chrysalids hibernate.
Flight: One flight May to mid-August in North, most of year in South.
Caterpillar Hosts: Leaves of ash (Fraxinus), hop tree (Ptelea), and chokecherry (Prunus).
Adult Food: Nectar from thistles, milkweeds, California buckeye, lilac, and many others.
Habitat: Foothill slopes and canyons, moist valleys, streamsides, woodlands, parks, roadsides, suburbs, and cities.
Range: Western North America south from British Columbia, east to central Nebraska and central Texas, south through Mexico.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None noted.
Taxonomy Notes:

Images of Papilio multicaudata

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Papilio multicaudata - Two-tailed_Swallowtail_2009-03-22_01crop_Gary_Jue.jpg

Papilio multicaudata - Two-tailed_Swallowtail_2009-03-22_01crop_Gary_Jue.jpg
Papilio multicaudata - papilio_multicaudata_multicaudata_caterpillar3_raisingbutterflies.jpg

Papilio multicaudata - papilio_multicaudata_multicaudata_caterpillar3_raisingbutterflies.jpg
Papilio multicaudata - papilio_multicaudata_multicaudata_caterpillar5a_raisingbutterflies.jpg

Papilio multicaudata - papilio_multicaudata_multicaudata_caterpillar5a_raisingbutterflies.jpg
Papilio multicaudata - papilio_multicaudata_multicaudata_caterpillar5b_raisingbutterflies.jpg

Papilio multicaudata - papilio_multicaudata_multicaudata_caterpillar5b_raisingbutterflies.jpg
Papilio multicaudata - Papilio_multicaudataJuly21-05CarolAdams-crop.jpg

Papilio multicaudata - Papilio_multicaudataJuly21-05CarolAdams-crop.jpg
Papilio multicaudata - papilio_multicaudata_pusillus_caterpillar5_raisingbutterflies.jpg

Papilio multicaudata - papilio_multicaudata_pusillus_caterpillar5_raisingbutterflies.jpg
Papilio multicaudata - Papilio_multicaudataMay5-02CarolAdams-crop.jpg

Papilio multicaudata - Papilio_multicaudataMay5-02CarolAdams-crop.jpg




Papilio multicaudata - Papilio_multicaudataSanders.jpg

Papilio multicaudata - Papilio_multicaudataSanders.jpg


The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.

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By default, the fifty most recently verified sightings are below. Sort by Observation Date to see the most recent sightings, or filter the sightings by region to get a regional list.

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Observation Date Submitter Region Verified Datesort icon
April 19, 2013 whbauer Blanco County, Texas, United States April 20, 2013 Details
March 27, 2013 dwwhatley Texas, Travis County, United States March 30, 2013 Details
March 13, 2013 sallyatticum Texas, Travis County, United States March 14, 2013 Details
June 09, 2012 J_Martineau Sheridan County, Wyoming, United States February 05, 2013 Details
July 27, 2012 reversibleraincoat Butte County, Idaho, United States January 22, 2013 Details
December 03, 2012 BrynneD1 Hays County, Texas, United States January 19, 2013 Details
June 04, 1972 stomlins701 Bexar County, Texas, United States December 26, 2012 Details
May 20, 2012 Ethan Hall Cache County, Utah, United States December 20, 2012 Details
June 17, 1981 legacy.reporter (Oakley Shields) Churchill County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
July 09, 1982 legacy.reporter (K Hansen-S. Mattoon) Elko County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
July 11, 1982 legacy.reporter (K Hansen-S. Mattoon) Elko County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
March 29, 1984 legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) Clark County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
August 17, 1988 legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) Clark County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
September 05, 1983 legacy.reporter (D. Parkinson) Cochise County, Arizona, United States December 01, 2012 Details
July 20, 1995 legacy.reporter (Robert L. Langston) Humboldt County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
April 27, 1978 legacy.reporter (C. S. Lawson) Clark County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
May 17, 1978 legacy.reporter (C. S. Lawson) Clark County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
May 20, 1979 legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) Clark County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
May 29, 1978 legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) Clark County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
June 07, 1978 legacy.reporter (C. S. Lawson) Clark County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
July 22, 1999 legacy.reporter (Robert L. Langston) Lander County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
August 09, 1999 legacy.reporter (Ray Stanford) Esmeralda County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
March 31, 1994 legacy.reporter (Lauritz Muehlbach) Yavapai County, Arizona, United States December 01, 2012 Details
April 12, 1994 legacy.reporter (Lauritz Muehlbach) Yavapai County, Arizona, United States December 01, 2012 Details
April 18, 1994 legacy.reporter (Lauritz Muehlbach) Yavapai County, Arizona, United States December 01, 2012 Details
September 10, 1994 legacy.reporter (Lauritz Muehlbach) Yavapai County, Arizona, United States December 01, 2012 Details
September 18, 1994 legacy.reporter (Lauritz Muehlbach) Yavapai County, Arizona, United States December 01, 2012 Details
February 16, 2006 legacy.reporter (Robert Behrstock) Cochise County, Arizona, United States December 01, 2012 Details
July 08, 2002 legacy.reporter (Ray & Kit Stanford) Esmeralda County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
June 06, 2001 legacy.reporter (Robert L. Langston) Elko County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
May 08, 2002 legacy.reporter (Paul Thompson) White Pine County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
July 17, 2012 rjadams Cascade County, Montana, United States October 12, 2012 Details
September 30, 2012 mules42 Beaverhead County, Montana, United States October 12, 2012 Details
September 09, 2012 Jeff Trahan Cochise County, Arizona, United States September 18, 2012 Details
October 16, 2011 myeager Plumas County, California, United States September 14, 2012 Details
April 24, 2010 stomlins701 Bandera County, Texas, United States August 31, 2012 Details
July 27, 2006 stomlins701 Brewster County, Texas, United States August 29, 2012 Details
July 28, 2006 stomlins701 Texas, Presidio County, United States August 29, 2012 Details
July 23, 2012 csgee Cochise County, Arizona, United States August 20, 2012 Details
June 06, 2012 Gdasch Weld County, Colorado, United States July 21, 2012 Details
June 11, 2012 Mickey Althouse El Paso County, Colorado, United States July 21, 2012 Details
June 07, 2012 Gtb111 El Paso County, Colorado, United States July 21, 2012 Details
June 27, 2012 PDunwiddie Boulder County, Colorado, United States July 21, 2012 Details
May 26, 2012 Birdal Utah County, Utah, United States July 01, 2012 Details
June 03, 2012 Peter Ahlstrom Utah County, Utah, United States July 01, 2012 Details
June 15, 2012 chuckcmt McCone County, Montana, United States June 18, 2012 Details
June 15, 2008 hjbarkey9 Routt County, Colorado, United States May 15, 2012 Details
August 05, 2011 Tom McRoberts Jefferson County, Colorado, United States May 14, 2012 Details
September 12, 2011 Julie Crowther British Columbia, Canada April 30, 2012 Details
July 24, 2011 calidris Deschutes County, Oregon, United States April 16, 2012 Details