Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail

Place name abbreviations: MPEA – Middle Patuxent Environment Area; PRSP – Patuxent River State Park; PVSP – Patapsco River Valley State Park.

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

Legend:

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

 

Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail (2.5–4.5″) Rare: May-June Deciduous woods Blackberry, multiflora rose Wild black cherry


The Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail is most easily distinguished from the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail by two main characteristics:

  1. The yellow dashes on the ventral forewing almost merge to form a continuous band with very little black separating them (top arrow/red oval)
  2. The black edging on the ventral hindwing is not scalloped but more straight (bottom arrow/blue oval).

(Annette Allor and Linda Hunt found it on April 24, 2026, only a little earlier than the May-June time span specified for the Appalachian region, which would tend to have a later start to the season.)