Black Swallowtail

Place name abbreviations: MPEA – Middle Patuxent Environment Area; PRSP – Patuxent River State Park; PVSP – Patapsco River Valley State Park; UMDCF – University of Maryland Central Farm.

Click on the common name to obtain additional information from the Butterflies and Moths of North America web page and the following common name for additional information from USGS web page. BugGuide is another web resource.
Legend:

Common name [Link is to BAMONA] (wingspan range in inches)
Common name [link is to USGS]
Occurrence level & flight period.
Habitat. Typically visits (for nectaring). Larval host plants.

 

Black Swallowtail (3.25–4.25″)
Black Swallowtail
Uncommon: May thru Aug Open, weedy fields & marshes Common milkweed Queen Anne’s lace, parsley





Male
July 10, 2011
Mount Pleasant
Bonnie Ott

Male
August 16, 2012
UMDCF
Jo Solem

Male
August 26, 2010
Ellicott City
Kathy Litzinger

Female
August 19, 2012
Elkhorn Garden Plots
Annette Allor

Female
October 17, 2011
Mount Pleasant
Annette Allor

Caterpillar
June 25, 2011
Ellicott City
Bonnie Ott

Caterpillar
September 1, 2012
Elkhorn Garden Plots
Annette Allor

Caterpillar
September 23, 2014
Waterford Farm
Jo Solem

Caterpillar
August 23, 2021
Ellicott City
Kevin Heffernan

Chrysalis
October 12, 2016
Glenwood
Bill Hill

Life history of the Black Swallowtail by Bob Schaefer (Mount Airy, Howard County) 2012

Egg on dill

Small larva

Growing larve

Larva shedding skin

Larva in familiar pattern but still with small spines

Large larva

Larva preparing to putate

Pupa attached by thread

Rear view of pupa

Empty pupal skin

Black Swallowtails from Caterpillar to Adult

Kristin and Eric Trouton “had a total of 10 black swallowtail caterpillars on our dill! They ate all of our dill, and I also placed all of my parsley nearby and they ate all of that as well.” Below is a series of time-lapse movies and photographs as some pupated and emerged as adults:

August 2, 2020 movie (click to view)
August 3, 2020 movie (click to view)
August 3, 2020 chrysalis
August 2, 2020 movie (click to view)
August 14, 2020 emerged!
August 13, 2020 another emerged!
Individuals seen in each 10-day period to date during the butterfly survey

The phenograms show the maximum number of individual butterflies of this species seen in the first eight years of the Howard County Butterfly Survey. From these graphs, one can see the number of broods of each species, when they are active, and the relative abundance of the species in each brood. The observed early and late dates are shown below The graphs can be used to anticipate the first sighting of a given species in the year and can help with identification.

Early: 4/11/2017 Late: 10/28/2014