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Family Papilionidae – Swallowtails Most North American members of this family are brightly colored butterflies with tailed hind wings. Butterfly Main | Skippers | Butterfly Index |
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 Checkered Swallowtail – Papilio demoleus Family Papilionidae includes about 560 species worldwide; 33 of these live in North America [1]. Papilionidae is further subdivided into two subfamilies, Papilioninae and Parnassiinae. Most swallowtails are large, brightly colored or black butterflies with one or more tails on the hindwings, with a few exceptions having no tails at all, e.g. genus Parides [1].
Adult swallowtails frequent woodland edges and glades, weedy fields and gardens, just about anywhere there can be found open spaces and flowers. The eastern tiger swallowtail is particularly fond of sunflowers in all their wild varieties. Larval host plants include the family Rutaceae. |
 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail |
 Black Swallowtail |
 Tiger Swallowtail, black female |
 Pipevine Swallowtail |
References
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| Tree Encyclopedia / North American Insects & Spiders is dedicated to providing scientific and educational resources for our users through use of large images and macro photographs of flora and fauna. |
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Order Lepidoptera, which contains both butterflies and moths, includes at least 125,000 known species including 12,000 in North America. Butterflies are revered for their brightly colored wings and pleasing association with fair weather and flowers. |
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