Giant Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio cresphontes) | PUPAE

Papilio cresphontes, commonly known as the Giant Swallowtail, is one of the largest and most striking butterflies native to North America. Its wingspan ranges from 10-15 cm, making it an impressive sight in gardens, woodlands, and citrus groves. The butterfly is easily recognized by its striking black wings adorned with yellow bands and a distinctive "swallowtail" extension on the hindwings. Its large range stretches from South America, encompassing Central America and eastern USA up into Canada - in the western USA, cresphontes is replaced by its sister species Papilio rumiko, which is genetically disctint but looks almost idental, apart from a few differences in yellow patterning. In the southern parts of its range, cresphontes is replaced by another almost identical species, the King Swallowtail, Papilio thoas, which again is genetically distinct but visually similar. Curiously, thoas does not feed on Citrus like its sister species, instead using Pepper Vines (Piper) as a host plant. 

The underside of the wings are a lighter yellow-brown with similar patterns, allowing it to blend into its environment when resting. Caterpillars of this species resemble bird droppings, a helpful camouflage adaptation that deters predators. Whilst many swallowtails exhibit this patterning in early stages, they typically lose it in the mature stages and become green, but cresphontes retains this cryptic patterning throughout its larval development - perhaps contributing to its success as a species with such a large distribution. They primarily feed on plants in the citrus family, such as orange and lemon trees, which has occasionally labeled them as pests in commercial citrus orchards, but they also enjoy related plants such as Garden Rue, Choisya, Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum), and others.

Difficulty - Easy (1/10)

Host plants - Citrus; Choisya; Skimmia

Conditions - Room temperature or slightly warmer; butterflies enjoy sunshine.

Lifecycle - Continually brooded in many cases; capable of dormancy as pupae during the winter.