Attributes of Papilio polyxenes

Black Swallowtail
Papilio polyxenes Fabricius, 1775

Family: Papilionidae
Subfamily: Papilioninae
Identification: Upper surface of wings mostly black; on inner edge of hindwing is a black spot centered in larger orange spot. Male has yellow band near edge of wings; female has row of yellow spots. Female hindwing with iridescent blue band. In the Southwest, yellow forms predominate in the subspecies P. coloro.
Wing Span: 3 1/4 - 4 1/4 inches (8 - 11 cm).
Life History: Males perch and patrol for receptive females. Female lays eggs singly on leaves and flowers of the host, which are then eaten by hatching larvae. Hibernates as a chrysalis.
Flight: One-2 flights from April-October in northern regions of range; 3 flights in southern regions.
Caterpillar Hosts: Leaves of plants in the parsley family (Apiaceae) including Queen Anne's Lace, carrot, celery and dill. Sometimes plants in the citrus family (Rutaceae) are preferred.
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers including red clover, milkweed, and thistles.
Habitat: A variety of open areas including fields, suburbs, marshes, deserts, and roadsides.
Range: Most of the eastern U.S., north into Quebec, west into s. Saskatchewan, Colorado and se. California; south to n. South America. Subspecies coloro in desert Southwest.
Conservation: Not usually of concern.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: Maintain open fields in East.
Taxonomy Notes:

Images of Papilio polyxenes

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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
June 17, 2013 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States June 18, 2013 Details
June 16, 2013 painted lady Benton County, Arkansas, United States June 16, 2013 Details
June 05, 2013 BigMcC62 Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States June 15, 2013 Details
June 02, 2013 Icecube1914 Howard County, Maryland, United States June 15, 2013 Details
June 13, 2013 Ken42 East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States June 14, 2013 Details
August 20, 2012 mom2krb Erie County, New York, United States June 13, 2013 Details
June 12, 2013 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States June 12, 2013 Details
June 01, 2013 nebulagirl Hamilton County, Ohio, United States June 02, 2013 Details
June 01, 2013 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States June 01, 2013 Details
May 05, 2013 Dr.butterfly Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States May 29, 2013 Details
May 25, 2013 slaxton Collin County, Texas, United States May 28, 2013 Details
May 05, 2013 John Many Wings Frederick County, Maryland, United States May 27, 2013 Details
May 26, 2013 tomfishburn Lucas County, Ohio, United States May 27, 2013 Details
May 22, 2013 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States May 23, 2013 Details
May 20, 2013 BeaLaporte Ontario, Canada May 21, 2013 Details
May 18, 2013 yarmouthshipping Lake County, Indiana, United States May 20, 2013 Details
May 14, 2013 NanineB South Carolina, United States May 19, 2013 Details
May 18, 2013 curtis.lehman Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States May 19, 2013 Details
May 08, 2013 John Many Wings Frederick County, Maryland, United States May 15, 2013 Details
May 13, 2013 Acosta Ontario, Canada May 13, 2013 Details
May 09, 2013 HClenin Lafayette County, Missouri, United States May 12, 2013 Details
May 09, 2013 BSaylor Wayne County, Ohio, United States May 10, 2013 Details
April 09, 2013 telephonec Texas, Travis County, United States April 23, 2013 Details
April 23, 2013 whbauer Bexar County, Texas, United States April 23, 2013 Details
April 06, 2013 Mightynewmommy Comanche County, Texas, United States April 21, 2013 Details
April 19, 2013 whbauer Blanco County, Texas, United States April 20, 2013 Details
April 19, 2013 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States April 19, 2013 Details
April 09, 2013 liasynthis Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States April 17, 2013 Details
July 30, 2012 TiggersMomma Monroe County, Indiana, United States April 13, 2013 Details
April 10, 2013 Nymphalis antiopa Prince Edward County, Virginia, United States April 13, 2013 Details
April 12, 2013 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States April 12, 2013 Details
April 05, 2013 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States April 10, 2013 Details
August 02, 2011 ingodsgarden Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States April 06, 2013 Details
August 04, 2011 catharinejo Jackson County, Kansas, United States April 05, 2013 Details
May 23, 2012 janet tubb Ontario, Canada April 01, 2013 Details
March 16, 2013 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States March 27, 2013 Details
March 20, 2013 CA Ivy Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States March 27, 2013 Details
March 18, 2013 SLine Dallas County, Texas, United States March 18, 2013 Details
March 13, 2013 sallyatticum Texas, Travis County, United States March 14, 2013 Details
March 06, 2013 Sherrie Harris County, Texas, United States March 07, 2013 Details
May 27, 2012 ShelleyTim Quebec, Canada February 18, 2013 Details
August 16, 2010 dpgbfly1 Isanti County, Minnesota, United States January 06, 2013 Details
July 17, 2012 LinRandolph Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States January 04, 2013 Details
September 11, 2010 Debbie Taylor Pope County, Arkansas, United States January 02, 2013 Details
November 01, 2012 Anita Whipple Lewis County, Tennessee, United States December 02, 2012 Details
July 03, 2012 legacy.reporter (O. Shields-R Wells) Clark County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
September 11, 1984 legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) Esmeralda County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
April 29, 1992 legacy.reporter (Robert L. Langston) Clark County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
March 21, 1990 legacy.reporter (William Swisher) Clark County, Nevada, United States December 01, 2012 Details
August 01, 1981 legacy.reporter (Jim Mori) Coconino County, Arizona, United States December 01, 2012 Details