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 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.
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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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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August 16, 2012 | PDunwiddie | Clatsop County, Oregon, United States | April 30, 2013 | Details |
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April 22, 2013 | denseaman | California, United States | April 29, 2013 | Details |
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March 24, 2013 | DanielLichtblau | Los Angeles County, California, United States | March 25, 2013 | Details |
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July 21, 2012 | swittwa | Kittitas County, Washington, United States | December 17, 2012 | Details |
| June 20, 1987 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| July 14, 1987 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| May 31, 1977 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| June 14, 1977 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| June 28, 1978 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| June 17, 1977 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| June 17, 1977 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| June 20, 1979 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| June 20, 1979 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| June 30, 1977 | legacy.reporter (C. S. Lawson) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| July 05, 2065 | legacy.reporter (Anna Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| July 20, 2065 | legacy.reporter (Anna Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| June 22, 1996 | legacy.reporter (Robert L. Langston) | Elko County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
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September 29, 2012 | awv | El Dorado County, California, United States | October 30, 2012 | Details |
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October 01, 2012 | H.Turnbull | Kitsap County, Washington, United States | October 07, 2012 | Details |
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July 13, 2011 | M Mimura | Pitkin County, Colorado, United States | October 05, 2012 | Details |
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September 21, 2012 | dathfam | Yavapai County, Arizona, United States | September 21, 2012 | Details |
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September 10, 2012 | suzzidoke | Torrance County, New Mexico, United States | September 10, 2012 | Details |
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June 11, 2012 | stomlins701 | El Dorado County, California, United States | August 30, 2012 | Details |
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June 02, 2012 | biggie420 | Eagle County, Colorado, United States | August 18, 2012 | Details |
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August 06, 2012 | shakespearenut | Los Angeles County, California, United States | August 09, 2012 | Details |
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August 07, 2012 | mikefrey37 | Riverside County, California, United States | August 09, 2012 | Details |
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May 29, 2012 | nlg1976 | Larimer County, Colorado, United States | July 21, 2012 | Details |
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July 16, 2012 | shakespearenut | Los Angeles County, California, United States | July 17, 2012 | Details |
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July 08, 2012 | laniebabies | Modoc County, California, United States | July 16, 2012 | Details |
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July 08, 2012 | PDunwiddie | Kittitas County, Washington, United States | July 11, 2012 | Details |
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July 05, 2012 | uptonlaw | Pierce County, Washington, United States | July 09, 2012 | Details |
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June 21, 2012 | dlyster11 | Snohomish County, Washington, United States | June 25, 2012 | Details |
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June 14, 2012 | Amy Ghozeil | Benton County, Oregon, United States | June 19, 2012 | Details |
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June 24, 2010 | Carl Schneider | Marion County, Oregon, United States | June 19, 2012 | Details |
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June 16, 2012 | PDunwiddie | Kittitas County, Washington, United States | June 18, 2012 | Details |
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June 15, 2012 | PDunwiddie | King County, Washington, United States | June 16, 2012 | Details |
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June 11, 2012 | agardener | Skagit County, Washington, United States | June 13, 2012 | Details |
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June 04, 2012 | NORMBABS | Coconino County, Arizona, United States | June 06, 2012 | Details |
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June 03, 2012 | barbarapeltier | Pierce County, Washington, United States | June 04, 2012 | Details |
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May 31, 2012 | jeffbanke | Alameda County, California, United States | June 01, 2012 | Details |
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May 26, 2012 | erinlamothe | Orange County, California, United States | May 27, 2012 | Details |
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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 | holycow2626 | 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 |
| June 22, 1996 | legacy.reporter (Robert L. Langston) | Elko County, Nevada, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details |
