Alabama Butterfly

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

(Papilio glaucus)

Adopted on May 2, 1989

On May 2, 1989 the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio glaucus, was designated as the official state mascot and butterfly. In addition to the appointment of the state butterfly, Selma has been appointed the Butterfly Capitol of Alabama.

The swallowtail bill was requested by the City Council of Selma, Alabama. The tiger swallowtail had earlier become the mascot of Selma, the "Butterfly Capital of Alabama." Also, the Alabama Garden Clubs had helped set aside April 16 as Alabama's official "Save the Butterfly Day." Finally, the butterfly resolution noted that official butterflies had already been adopted by California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, and Oregon.

Residents of Selma first adopted the eastern tiger swallowtail because it is native, highly visible, and beautiful. They wanted to draw attention to the plight of butterflies. Several species had been placed on the endangered species list because of pesticides.

But Selma is a butterfly paradise. Residents cultivated plants that provide food to butterfly larvae and nectar for the adults. They designed a flag depicting a butterfly. Teachers taught about butterflies in local schools. Selma School District's paper was called the Butterfly Times.
 

Butterfly Gardens and Insect Zoos

Description

The eastern tiger swallowtail, Papilio glaucus, one of the most common and widely distributed swallowtail butterflies in the eastern United States, has a wingspan that can reach 5 inches. The males' bright yellow wings have four black bands on the front wings, and a long black tail on each hind wing, and are easily identified. The first rendering of this species was of an adult male, drawn in 1587 by John White, commander of Sir Walter Raleigh's third expedition to North America. Some females, particularly those in the North, are black, with some blue interlaced with black bands on the hind wings. These females superficially resemble the poisonous blue pipevine swallowtail, Battus philenor.

Life Cycle

• Two flights generally occur in the north, and three or four flights take place as far south as Florida.
• Male swallowtails fly at treetop level and descend to mate with lower-flying females.
• Females lay single, globular greenish-yellow eggs on the surface of leaves, and the young larvae that result are dark and resemble bird droppings.
• The two-inch-long mature larva or caterpillar is bright green and swollen in front, with false black and orange eyespots. These larvae spin a silk "mat" on the leaf, which curls the edges of the leaf somewhat.
• Larvae feed until they are full-grown, then develop into a dark brown or greenish brown caterpillar and descend the trunk of the tree and pupate on the ground, creating a dark stick-like chrysalis in which they overwinter.
• The pupa is light brown with a dark brown or black lateral stripe and dark brown dorsal band.

Habitat

The tiger swallowtail is widely distributed from New England west through the southern Great Lakes area (along Merriam's "transition life zone") through most of the Great Plains states and south to Texas and Florida. In the transition zone, the eastern tiger swallowtail is sympatric with the closely related Canadian tiger swallowtail, Papilio canadensis (until recently, considered a subspecies of P. glaucus).