Attributes of Papilio rutulus
Western Tiger Swallowtail
Papilio rutulus Lucas, 1852
Family: Papilionidae
Subfamily: Papilioninae
Identification: Upperside of hindwing with upper-most marginal spot yellow or lacking. Underside of forewing with separate yellow spots forming marginal band. Hindwing has narrow marginal spots and no orange tint except for 2 spots near end of inner margin.
Wing Span: 2 3/4 - 4 inches (7 - 10 cm).
Life History: Males patrol canyons or hilltops for receptive females. Females lay eggs singly on surface of host plant leaves. Caterpillars feed on leaves and rest on silken mats in shelters of curled leaves. Chrysalids hibernate.
Flight: One flight from June-July.
Caterpillar Hosts: Leaves of cottonwood and aspen (Populus), willows (Salix), wild cherry (Prunus), and ash (Fraxinus).
Adult Food: Nectar from many flowers including thistles, abelia, California buckeye, zinnia, and yerba santa.
Habitat: Woodlands near rivers and streams, wooded suburbs, canyons, parks, roadsides, and oases.
Range: Western North America from British Columbia south to southern New Mexico and Baja California; east to western South Dakota and southeast Colorado. A rare stray to central Nebraska.
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 rutulus
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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 200 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.
Instructions: Click on the map and move your mouse to pan.
Zoom by using the plus [+] and minus [-] on the left side of the map.
To change which map layers are displayed, click on the plus sign [+] on the right side of the map.
The fifty most recently verified sightings are below. See more recently verified sightings of all species.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
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May 10, 2012 | AKimages | San Diego County, California, United States | May 11, 2012 | Details |
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September 05, 2011 | Valpat | British Columbia, Canada | April 30, 2012 | Details |
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September 18, 2011 | robin44 | British Columbia, Canada | April 30, 2012 | Details |
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July 01, 2008 | calidris | Walla Walla County, Washington, United States | April 23, 2012 | Details |
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July 31, 2011 | jamiep | King County, Washington, United States | March 26, 2012 | Details |
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July 18, 2011 | Amateur Entomologist | Benton County, Oregon, United States | March 09, 2012 | Details |
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July 19, 2010 | Amateur Entomologist | San Luis Obispo County, California, United States | February 17, 2012 | Details |
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August 03, 2010 | Amateur Entomologist | San Luis Obispo County, California, United States | February 16, 2012 | Details |
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July 24, 2011 | Roland | Lake County, Montana, United States | December 08, 2011 | Details |
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October 01, 2011 | MisakoHill | Alameda County, California, United States | October 04, 2011 | Details |
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June 01, 2011 | Joe Schelling--entered by M ODonnell | Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States | October 03, 2011 | Details |
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September 30, 2011 | lofree | Thurston County, Washington, United States | October 03, 2011 | Details |
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June 10, 2011 | Matt ODonnell | Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States | September 11, 2011 | Details |
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June 14, 2010 | Greg Dean | British Columbia, Canada | September 10, 2011 | Details |
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July 24, 2011 | plex1ppus | Spokane County, Washington, United States | August 31, 2011 | Details |
| August 16, 2011 | davidwdroppers | Whatcom County, Washington, United States | August 20, 2011 | Details | |
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July 09, 2011 | Quirky Cottage | British Columbia, Canada | August 17, 2011 | Details |
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August 06, 2011 | Kim | Snohomish County, Washington, United States | August 11, 2011 | Details |
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August 05, 2006 | RaisingButterflies.org | Camas County, Idaho, United States | August 11, 2011 | Details |
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July 22, 2011 | AKimages | San Diego County, California, United States | July 29, 2011 | Details |
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July 27, 2011 | powm | Klickitat County, Washington, United States | July 28, 2011 | Details |
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July 05, 2011 | cpcdolan | Archuleta County, Colorado, United States | July 23, 2011 | Details |
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June 19, 2011 | AKimages | San Diego County, California, United States | July 15, 2011 | Details |
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July 14, 2011 | jack1626 | King County, Washington, United States | July 14, 2011 | Details |
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July 08, 2011 | Tulyanna | Clark County, Washington, United States | July 09, 2011 | Details |
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July 07, 2011 | Arnold | Whatcom County, Washington, United States | July 08, 2011 | Details |
| July 06, 2011 | davidwdroppers | Snohomish County, Washington, United States | July 08, 2011 | Details | |
| July 04, 2011 | davidwdroppers | Snohomish County, Washington, United States | July 08, 2011 | Details | |
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June 30, 2011 | rory8535 | Walla Walla County, Washington, United States | July 05, 2011 | Details |
| June 17, 2011 | davidwdroppers | Okanogan County, Washington, United States | June 24, 2011 | Details | |
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July 07, 2007 | James Fox | Kitsap County, Washington, United States | June 23, 2011 | Details |
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June 16, 2011 | Alexandra Rudge | Los Angeles County, California, United States | June 22, 2011 | Details |
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June 16, 2011 | Alexandra Rudge | Los Angeles County, California, United States | June 18, 2011 | Details |
| June 11, 2011 | davidwdroppers | Chelan County, Washington, United States | June 15, 2011 | Details | |
| June 13, 2010 | legacy.reporter (John Gillies) | Whatcom County, Washington, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| July 13, 2010 | legacy.reporter (Kimberly Lanphear) | Clark County, Washington, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| June 11, 2007 | legacy.reporter (Ray Collett) | Santa Cruz County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| August 12, 2007 | legacy.reporter (Jeff Pippin) | Tuolumne County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| May 13, 2004 | legacy.reporter (William Bouton) | San Luis Obispo County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| May 06, 2005 | legacy.reporter (Kim Davis & Mike Stangeland) | Inyo County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| April 19, 1971 | legacy.reporter (Jim Brock) | Mariposa County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| March 28, 2011 | Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport) | Fresno County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| April 23, 2011 | Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport) | Fresno County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| April 23, 2011 | Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport) | Fresno County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| June 24, 2001 | Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
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June 06, 2006 | Salman Abdulali | British Columbia, Canada | April 19, 2011 | Details |
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July 01, 2010 | J_Martineau | Fremont County, Wyoming, United States | January 23, 2011 | Details |
| July 14, 2009 | legacy.reporter (Judy Renouf) | British Columbia, Canada | December 31, 2010 | Details | |
| July 18, 2010 | legacy.reporter (Paul Opler and EviBuckner-Opler ) | Fremont County, Idaho, United States | December 31, 2010 | Details | |
| July 16, 2010 | legacy.reporter (Paul Opler and EviBuckner-Opler ) | Madison County, Montana, United States | December 31, 2010 | Details |
