Black Swallowtail

Female Black Swallowtail | Papilio polyxenes | Florida Museum photo by Ryan Fessenden

Male Black Swallowtail butterfly with closed wings. Butterfly is black with many red, yellow, and blue markings.

Male Black Swallowtail | Papilio polyxenes | Florida Museum photo by Ryan Fessenden

Female Black Swallowtail butterfly with open wings. Butterfly is black with many blue and smaller yellow markings along the edges. The wings end in a single long point.

Female Black Swallowtail | Papilio polyxenes | Florida Museum photo by Ryan Fessenden

Male Black Swallowtail butterfly with open wings. Butterfly is black with many yellow and blue markings along the edges. The wings end in a single long point.

Male Black Swallowtail | Papilio polyxenes | Florida Museum photo by Ryan Fessenden

tan and brown chrysalis with ridges and texture giving it a leaf-like appearance hanging from a plant stem

Black Swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes, chrysalis. Florida Museum photo by Ryan Fessenden

Green chrysalis with tan/yellow lines down the center hanging from a green stem

Black Swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes, chrysalis. Florida Museum photo by Ryan Fessenden

Common Name: Black Swallowtail
Scientific Name: Papilio polyxenes
Family: Papilionidae
Subfamily: Papilioninae
Tribe: Papilionini
Wingspan: 2.5 to 4.2 in
Place of origin: Southern Canada to South America

Butterflies in the exhibit are raised on butterfly farms around the world. This form of sustainable agriculture helps protect natural forest habitats from destruction and promote local economic growth.

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