The eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) is found in North America from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico and northern Mexico, east of the Rocky Mountains.
The eastern tiger swallowtail can be found in almost any area with deciduous forests, including woodlands, fields, rivers, creeks, roadsides, and gardens. It's most common along streams and rivers, and in wooded swamps.
The wingspan of the eastern tiger swallowtail ranges from 7.9 to 14 cm (3.1 to 5.5 in). Females are generally larger than males, and southern individuals are larger than northern ones.
Males are yellow with four black "tiger stripes" on each fore wing. Females are dimorphic, with some having the same color pattern as the males, and others being completely black.
The eastern tiger swallowtail is one of the most common and beautiful eastern butterflies. It's not considered threatened because it has adapted to many different habitats and host plants.
The female butterfly lays large, round, green eggs on the leaves of host plants, such as cherry, ash, or tulip poplar trees. The eggs hatch in about 4–10 days.
caterpillars are green and eat the leaves of their host plants. They go through five instars, or stages, separated by molts. During this stage, caterpillars develop false eyes to trick predators into thinking they are snakes.
After the fifth instar, the caterpillars pupate and form a brown chrysalis with a mottled pattern. The chrysalis is the overwintering stage.
The adult butterfly emerges from the chrysalis and lives for about two to four weeks.
They have a wingspan of 3–4 inches and are black, yellow, and blue.
Adult butterflies feed on nectar from flowers and tree sap.
The number of generations a tiger swallowtail butterfly goes through depends on the region were it lives.
In the Northern range there are Two generations.
In the Southern range there are Three generations.
In the Deep South U.S. Two or three broods.
John White, an explorer, cartographer, and artist, drew the first known image of a North American butterfly in 1587.
White's drawing was of a male tiger swallowtail and was named "Mamankanois," which is thought to be a Carolina Algonquian word for "butterfly".
Carl Linnaeus described the species in his 10th edition of Systema Naturae in 1758.
The eastern tiger swallowtail was once thought to have a wide range, extending into northern Canada and the eastern United States. However, in 1991, the subspecies Papilio glaucus canadensis was elevated to species level, reducing the range of P. glaucus to south of Canada.
The eastern tiger swallowtail has been featured in art, literature, and mythology for centuries.
It was also featured on two United States postage stamps.
The black form of the eastern tiger swallowtail is most common in the southern part of its range. This form may be an example of deceptive coloration using mimicry.
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