Zebra Swallowtail
Neographium marcellus (Cramer, 1777)
Family: Papilionidae
Subfamily: Papilioninae
Tribe: Leptocircini
Identification: Upper surface of wings with black stripes on pale whitish-green background; hindwings have very long tails. Early-spring form is smaller and lighter colored.
Wing Span: 2 1/2 - 4 inches (6.4 - 10.4 cm).
Life History: Adult males fly in the understory near host plants to find females. Females lay single green eggs on lower leaves of host plant. Caterpillars live and feed on the underside of these leaves, then pupate and hibernate there.
Flight: Two flights, April-August, in the northern part of its range; many flights, March-December, in the south.
Caterpillar Hosts: Shrubs of the genus Asimina (pawpaw) in the Annonaceae family. Young plants are preferred.
Adult Food: Moisture from sand and nectar from flowers including blueberry, blackberry, lilac, redbud, viper\'s bugloss, verbena, dogbane, and common milkweed.
Habitat: Breeds in moist low woodlands near swamps and rivers. Adults fly to nectar plants in open fields and brushy areas.
Range: Rare in northern part of range.
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 host trees in various stages of succession.
Alternate Scientific Names:
Eurytides marcellus
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 337 - 360 of 2912 verified sightings
Observation date: Apr 07, 2020
Submitted by: Mapper
Region: Johnson County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Apr 08, 2020
Observation date: Mar 25, 2020
Submitted by: Stephen G.
Region: Benton County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: Stephen G.
Verified date: Apr 03, 2020
Observation date: Apr 02, 2020
Submitted by: GRCrowe
Region: Benton County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Apr 03, 2020
Observation date: Mar 31, 2020
Submitted by: pegreinhart
Region: St. Johns County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 31, 2020
Observation date: Aug 12, 2018
Submitted by: C. West
Region: Shelby County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: Howell_Curtis
Verified date: Mar 29, 2020
Observation date: Mar 18, 2020
Submitted by: Carla Griffis
Region: Clay County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 29, 2020
Observation date: Mar 07, 2020
Submitted by: mellielong
Region: Hernando County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 21, 2020
Observation date: Oct 11, 2019
Submitted by: Doug DeNeve
Region: Manatee County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 05, 2019
Observation date: Jul 21, 2018
Submitted by: Debo Boddiford
Region: Allendale County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Nov 01, 2019
Observation date: May 30, 2019
Submitted by: sbcsmith-rickboeth
Region: Grundy County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: dbruce
Verified date: Oct 16, 2019
Observation date: Jun 20, 2019
Submitted by: TomObrock
Region: Charlotte County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 02, 2019
Observation date: Sep 22, 2019
Submitted by: Daisy_STL
Region: St. Louis County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Sep 25, 2019
Observation date: Aug 27, 2019
Submitted by: thomass
Region: Columbia County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 16, 2019
Observation date: Aug 27, 2019
Submitted by: thomass
Region: Columbia County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 16, 2019
Observation date: Aug 27, 2019
Submitted by: thomass
Region: Columbia County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 16, 2019
Observation date: Sep 10, 2019
Submitted by: Ctaycats
Region: Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 10, 2019
Observation date: Jun 10, 2019
Submitted by: Belinda Knoblock
Region: Jefferson County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: Howell_Curtis
Verified date: Sep 07, 2019
Observation date: Jun 02, 2019
Submitted by: robert.emond
Region: Georgia, Thomas County, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Aug 31, 2019
Observation date: Aug 25, 2019
Submitted by: montejosh
Region: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 29, 2019
Observation date: Aug 25, 2019
Submitted by: ydlrun
Region: Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 29, 2019
Observation date: Aug 26, 2019
Submitted by: JRoper
Region: Williamson County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: dbruce
Verified date: Aug 28, 2019
Observation date: Jun 06, 2019
Submitted by: mathgeek
Region: Jackson County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 20, 2019
Observation date: Aug 06, 2019
Submitted by: Steven Comisford
Region: Licking County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 14, 2019
Observation date: Aug 09, 2019
Submitted by: Eric Wood
Region: Holt County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Aug 12, 2019
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