An Easy Butterfly Gardener’s Guide to Miami, FL Swallowtails

Description of the Bahamian Swallowtail (Papilio andraemon)

The Bahamian swallowtail flies around the Bahamas and the Caribbean and is an occasional migrant to the Florida Keys and the Miami area. In 1976, this butterfly was listed as Federally threatened in the United States (Fales 1977) and was delisted in 1984 (US Fish and Wildlife Service). It has brownish-orange eggs that are laid on the host plants. The caterpillars have five stages or instars before pupating, which takes about two weeks.

The adult butterflies have a wingspans ranging from about 3.8 inches (9.6 cm) to 4.0 inches (10.2 cm) and are black and yellow colored with blue on the underside of the hindquarters. This species can resemble the Schaus swallowtail (Papilio aristodemus), making identification difficult (Clench and Bjorndal 1980). However, it can be identified by the solid yellow bands across the wings (Bates 1935).

Plants that Host the Bahamian Swallowtail

The Bahamian swallowtail is hosted by members of the Rutaceae. Some members of this in Miami include:

• Key Lime (Citrus aurantiifolia) — a shrub to small tree (Brown 1972)
• Sour Orange (Citrus aurantium) — a shrub to small tree

Description of the Androgeus Swallowtail (Papilio androgeus)

The androgeus swallowtail flies around the Bahamas and the Caribbean and is an occasional migrant to the Florida Keys and the Miami area. This swallowtail was first found in the US in 1976 (Patterson 1977). It has brownish-orange eggs that are laid on the host plants. The caterpillars are initially tan-brown with cream mottling, olive-green (Wikipedia) but become dark grey to black in later instars (Ross 1964). The pupa is dark brown in color (Ross 1964).

The adult butterflies have a wingspans ranging from about 5.3 inches (13.4 cm) to 5.5 inches (14.0 cm) and are black and yellow colored with blue spots on the hindquarters. They fly from April to October. The females of this species may mimic the polydamas swallowtail (Battus polydamas) (Waldbauer and Sternberg 1975).

Plants that Host the Androgeus Swallowtail

The androgeus swallowtail, like the Bahamian swallowtail, is hosted by members of the Rutaceae, particularly the Citrus. Some members of this family in Miami include:

• Key Lime (Citrus aurantiifolia) — a shrub to small tree (Brown 1972)
• Sour Orange (Citrus aurantium) — a shrub to small tree

Description of the Schaus Swallowtail (Papilio aristodemus)

The Schaus swallowtail flies in south Florida and the eastern Caribbean islands. In 1976, this butterfly was listed as Federally threatened in the United States (Fales 1977) and was re-listed as endangered in 1984 (US Fish and Wildlife Service). The eggs are green colored and are laid on the host plants. The caterpillars are brown and have yellow patches, and are camouflage to resemble bird droppings. The pupa overwinter and are brown colored (UF-Featured Creatures-Schaus Swallowtail).

The adult butterflies have a wingspans ranging from about 3.25 inches (8.3 cm) to 5.1 inches (13.0 cm). This species can resemble the Bahamian swallowtail (Papilio andraemon), making identification difficult (Clench and Bjorndal 1980) and also the giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes), but the giant swallowtail has a red patch (McAuslane 2009). However, P. andraemon has solid yellow bands across the wings (Bates 1935).

Plants that Host the Schaus Swallowtail

The Schaus swallowtail is hosted by members of the Rutaceae. Some members of this family in Miami include:

• Smooth Torchwood (Amyris elemifera) — a shrub to small tree (Brown 1972)
• Key Lime (Citrus aurantiifolia) — a shrub to small tree (Brown 1972)
• Sour Orange (Citrus aurantium) — a shrub to small tree
• Hercules’-Club (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis): a shrub to tree
• Limestone Prickly-Ash (Zanthoxylum fagara): a shrub to tree

Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)

The giant swallowtail flies throughout the United States and southeast Canada, except for the northwest. Beyond North America it ranges into Central America and the Caribbean Islands. It is the largest butterfly in North America (Wikipedia – Papilio cresphontes). It has brownish-orange eggs that are laid on the host plants. The caterpillars have five stages or instars before pupating, which takes about two weeks.

The adult butterflies have a wingspans ranging from about 5.5 inches (14 cm) to 7.5 inches (19.1 cm) and are black and yellow colored.

Plants that Host the Giant Swallowtail

The giant swallowtail is hosted by members of the Rutaceae, of which there are two primary species and one genus in the Miami area. These include:

• Hercules’-Club (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis): a shrub to tree
• Limestone Prickly-Ash (Zanthoxylum fagara): a shrub to tree
• Members of the Citrus genus: trees of which this P. cresphontes is a pest in Florida (Bates 1935)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

The Eastern Tiger swallowtail flies in the mid-western and eastern United States from the Rocky Mountains and east. In the Eastern US it is likely one of the most distinctive swallowtails. The light green eggs are laid on the host plants. The caterpillar has five stages; with the first three a brown color and the last two as a green color. The brown chrysalis is placed in on trunks or on fallen leaves.

The adults have a wingspan of 3 inches (7.6 cm) to 5.5 inches (14 cm) and have two color schemes. The yellow and black is the most distinctive, but the females also have a dark black phase that mimics the pipevine swallowtail (see image).

Plants that Host the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

The eastern tiger swallowtail is a generalist and uses members of a number of genera as host plants. Some species in Miami area that are native include:

• Carolina Laurel Cherry (Prunus caroliniana): a shrub to small tree
• Sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana): a shrub to small tree

Palamedes Swallowtail (Papilio palamedes)

The palamedes swallowtail flies generally in the coastal plain of the east and gulf coasts of the United States. The light greenish-yellow eggs are laid on the host plants. The caterpillar is brown with small eyespots. The brown chrysalis is placed on trunks or on fallen leaves.

The adults have a wingspan of 4.5 inches (11.5 cm) to 5.25 inches (13.25 cm) and are black with whitish-yellow to yellow spots on the upperside of the wing. The underside is more prominently yellow with blue markings. Generally there are two broods per year.

Plants that Host the Palamedes Swallowtail

The palamedes swallowtail uses members of the Laurel Family (Lauraceae) as host plants. Some species in Miami area include:

• Camphortree (Cinnamomum camphora): an introduced tree
• Red Bay (Persea borbonia): a shrub to tree
• Swampbay (Persea palustris): a shrub to tree

Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)

The black swallowtail flies in most of the United States, except for the Northwest. The yellow eggs are laid on the host plants and take about a week to hatch. The caterpillars are at first black colored but later have green, black, and yellow coloring and last from a week to a month. The butterflies then survive the winter as a chrysalis.

The adults have a wingspan of 2.5 (6.4 cm) to 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) and are black colored with yellow spots along the wings and a red eyepsot near the tail on the top. The underside has orange spots.

Plants that Host the Black Swallowtail

The black swallowtail is a generalist and uses members of the carrot family (Apiaceae) as host plants. Some examples of carrot family members in Miami include:

• Asiatic Spadefoot (Centella asiatica): a herbaceous plant: a herbacous plant
• Spotted Water-Hemlock (Cicuta maculata): a herbaceous plant
• Fragrant Eryngo (Eryngium aromaticum): a herbaceous plant
• Baldwin’s Eryngo (Eryngium baldwinii): a herbaceous plant
• Button Eryngo (Eryngium yuccifolium): a herbaceous plant
• Herbwilliam (Ptilimnium capillaceum): a herbaceous plant

Zebra Swallowtail (Protographium marcellus)

The Zebra swallowtail flies in the mid-western and eastern United States. The green to brown eggs are laid on the leaves of the host plant, which is the pawpaw. The caterpillars have two color variations, first black and then later stages are more colorful with green and yellow stripes. The brown chrysalis can overwinter in places of cold temperatures (Wikipedia-Protographium marcellus).

The black and white multi-colored adults have a wingspan of 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) to 4.5 inches (11.4 cm) and fly from February to December with a more restricted season in more northern places. The early season brood can be smaller and has a shorter tail than the later summer brood that is larger and has a long tail (animaldiversity.org).

Plants that Host the Zebra Swallowtail

The zebra swallowtail uses members of the Custard Apple Family (Annonaceae) as host plants. In the Miami area, there are several plants that can be used as hosts. These include:

• Pond Apple (Annona glabra): a shrub to tree
• Sugar-Apple (Annona squamosa): a tree
• Netted Pawpaw (Asimina reticulata): a shrub

While the swallowtails need certain species of plants to use as hosts, the adults also need nectar plants to visit in order get nourishment. Nectar plants can also help other insects such as bees. Some common nectar plants that can be grown in the Miami, Fl area include:

• Goldenrods (Solidago spp.)
• Sweet-scented Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum)
• Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) — Also benefit the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
• Paper-Flower (Bougainvillea glabra) (West 1966)
• Singapore Graveyard-Flower (Plumeria obtusa) (Clench and Bjorndal 1980)
• Asters (Symphyotrichum spp.)
• Coneflowers (Rudbeckia spp.)
• Blazing Stars (Liatris spp.)
• Florida Ironweed (Vernonia blodgettii)