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396 Featured Specimen
Old World swallowtail

Details

Old World swallowtail

Papilio machaon

Size
6.5–9 cm · 0.3–0.7 g
Diet
Nectarivore
Activity
Diurnal
Sociality
Solitary
Lifespan
less than 1 year

The Old World swallowtail is a large yellow butterfly with tails on the hindwings. By day it visits flowers in grassland, mountains, farms, and urban greenspaces.

Range

Habitat range map
Native range Occasional / Transient
PalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearcticNearctic

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Details

Habitat

It occupies grassland, mountain slopes, farmland, and urban habitats across the Palearctic, the Nearctic. Open places with larval host plants are key.

Appearance

Length 6.5-9 cm; weight 0.3 g-0.7 g. Yellow wings carry black netlike markings, with blue spots, a red eyespot, and a short tail on each hindwing. Its flight is broad and buoyant.

Behavior

Diurnal and solitary, males patrol open vantage areas. Adults search around flowers and host plants for mates and egg-laying sites.

Feeding

A nectarivore as an adult, it drinks from many flowers. Caterpillars are herbivores on selected host plants such as umbellifers.

Reproduction

Females lay eggs singly on host leaves. Caterpillars pupate after feeding, and pupae may overwinter before emergence.

Notes

It is listed as Least Concern, though local populations can still be affected by habitat change, collection, or pollution.