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Papilio polyxenes var. asterius
Black Swallowtail
Parsnip Swallowtail
Eastern Black Swallowtail
Florida native
Black swallowtails can be found in the vicinity of wet prairies, roadside ditches, disturbed sites and urban areas throughout Florida. The range extends from central and eastern Canada, through most of the eastern and central United States, into the southwestern states, through Mexico, Central America and into the northern regions of South America.
Papilio polyxenes asterius is a fairly large black butterfly with tails and predominately yellow markings on the wings. This is one of Florida's smaller swallowtails, having a wingspan of from 6.9 to 8.4cm (2-3/4 to 3-1/3in.). On the upperside of the hindwing females have a blue band between the yellow bands while males may only have a hint of this blue . On the underside of the hindwings both sexes have varying degrees of blue in this area and orange mixed into the yellow bands. The body is black with yellow spots.
Host plants include many herbs in the Apiaceae (carrot) family such as dill and fennel.
For more information visit University of Florida, Dept. of Entomology Featured Creatures Eastern Black Swallowtail page.
Papilio polyxenes is a member of the Papilionidae - Swallowtails family.
Other species of the Papilio genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Papilio cresphontes - GIANT SWALLOWTAIL
Papilio glaucus var. australis - FLORIDA TIGER SWALLOWTAIL
Papilio glaucus - EASTERN TIGER SWALLOWTAIL
Papilio palamedes - PALAMEDES SWALLOWTAIL
Papilio troilus - SPICEBUSH SWALLOWTAIL
For more information on this species, visit the following link:
BugGuide.net page for this species
Date record last modified: Apr 08, 2020
