Giant swallowtail

Scientific name

Papilio cresphontes (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae)

Other common names

orange dog swallowtail

Similar species

Schaus' swallowtail, Papilio aristodemus ponceanus
Schaus' swallowtail is currently only located in the Florida Keys.

Thoas swallowtail, Heraclides thoas
The current distribution of Thoas swallowtail is South America.

Distribution

United States: In the eastern U.S., New England south to Florida. In the western U.S., Rocky Mountains and throughout the Southwest.

Worldwide: Canada, Mexico, Central and South America.

Native to North and South America.

Diagnostic characteristics

Adults

• Forewing forewing:
  the anterior (closest to the head) pair of wings in insects
  span of 116.8 - 175.3 mm (4.6 - 6.9 in.) for males and 134.6 - 188 mm (5.3 - 7.4 in.) for females.
• Forewing forewing:
  the anterior (closest to the head) pair of wings in insects
  has diagonal band of yellow spots.
• Elongated tails on hindwings. Tails have a black edge and are filled in with yellow.
• Undersides of wings are primarily yellow.

Pupae

• Brown chrysalischrysalis:
  another term for the pupa of a butterfly
  .
• Oriented 45 degrees to attachment site.

Larvae

• Five larval instars.
• Resemble bird droppings, black and white blotches on body.
• When touched will evert its osmeterium which looks like a bright orange-red "Y".

Eggs

• Single egg laid on the surface of leaves.
• 1 - 1.5 mm (0.04 - 0.06 in.) spherical eggs.
• Cream to brown with an irregular orange coating.

Hosts

Citrus hosts

All Citrus species and their hybrids.

Non-citrus hosts

• gasplant, Dictamnus albus
• Hercules-club, Zanthoxylum clava-herculis
• hoptree, Ptelea trifoliatasea
• lime pricklyash, Zanthoxylum fagara
• Mexican orange, Choisya dumosa
• northern pricklyash, Zanthoxylum americanum
• rue, Ruta graveolens
• torchwood, Amyris elemifera
• white sapote, Casimiroa edulis

Host damage

Leaves

Larvae eat the leaves with a preference for young leaves.

Biology

Adult giant swallowtails fly March - November. Mating occurs in the afternoon. Adults feed on the nectar of many flowers. Mated females lay their eggs singly on the upper surface of leaves. Larvae have 5 instars and feed on the host planthost plant:
the plant the provides sustenance for an insect
during the night. Pupation occurs in a chrysalischrysalis:
another term for the pupa of a butterfly
with two silksilk:
a natural fiber produced by some insects that can be utilized to construct shelters, leave a trail, build a cocoon, etc.
strings attached to a branch or trunk of the tree.

References

McAuslane, H. 2011. Featured creatures fact sheet: giant swallowtail, Papilio cresphontes Cramer (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). University of Florida. (http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/citrus/giantswallowtail.htm).

Authors

Weeks, J. A., A.C. Hodges, and N.C. Leppla