giant swallowtail
(Papilio cresphontes)
| Conservation Status | IUCN Red List |
not yet assessed |
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NatureServe |
N5 - Secure S5 - Secure |
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Minnesota |
not listed |
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| Occurrence | Rare stray to Minnesota |
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| Flight/Season | Two broods: early May, and late June through August. |
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| Habitat | Open woodlands, fields, hillsides near streams. |
Photo by Candice Christensen | |||||
| Size | Wingspan: 4″ to 6¼″ |
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| Identification | This is a large swallowtail butterfly. It has a wingspan of 4″ to 6¼″. The upper side of the wings are dark brown, almost black. There are two bands of bright yellow spots, a subapical band and a basal band. The two bands cross near the tips of the forewings, forming an irregular “X” shape. The is an orange spot and blue scale on the inner margin. The hind wings have “tails” with a large, yellow spot. The underside of the forewing is dark brown with two bands of pale yellow spots large enough to make the wing appear mostly pale yellow. The underside of the hind wing is mostly pale yellow with a median band of orange spots and blue scales. The body is pale yellow. The caterpillar is shiny dark brown with three white spots, mimicking a fresh bird dropping. |
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| Similar Species |
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| Larval Food | In Minnesota, common hoptree (Ptelea trifoliata ssp. trifoliata) and northern prickly ash (Zanthoxylum americanum). |
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| Adult Food | Flower nectar. |
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| Life Cycle | Females lay single eggs on the leaves of host plants. It overwinters as a chrysalis. |
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| Behavior |
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| Distribution |  |
Sources: 7, 20, 21, 24, 29, 30, 71. | |||||
| Comments | This is the largest butterfly in North America north of Mexico. |
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| Taxonomy | Order: |
Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) |
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Suborder: |
Glossata |
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Infraorder: |
Neolepidoptera |
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Parvorder: |
Heteroneura |
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No Rank: |
Ditrysia |
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No Rank: |
Obtectomera |
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Superfamily: |
Papilionoidea (butterflies) |
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Family: |
Papilionidae (swallowtails) |
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Subfamily: |
Papilioninae (swallowtails) |
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Tribe: |
Papilionini (fluted swallowtails) |
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| Synonyms |
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| Common Names |
giant swallowtail orange dog (caterpillar) |
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Glossary
Chrysalis
The pupa (third) stage of a butterfly or moth during which the caterpillar metamorphoses into an adult. In moths, the pupa is enclosed in a silk cocoon. In butterflies, the pupa is naked but protected by a hardened outer shell.
Visitor Photos |
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Share your photo of this insect. |
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Chris Mosley |
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This lovely butterfly floated around our front yard, and stopped long enough in the sunshine for me to take a photo (admittedly, a phone shot), then floated away again |
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Candice Christensen |
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Jason |
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Amazing color. HUGE compared to the other moths and butterflies in the garden. |
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Elizabeth Welty |
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Phil Wala |
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Tom Baker |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Slideshows |
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| Giant Swallowtail DianesDigitals |
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About
Copyright DianesDigitals Giant Swallowtail - Papilio cresphontes |
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| Papilio cresphontes (Giant Swallowtail) Allen Chartier |
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| Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren |
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| Giant Swallowtail jt893x |
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| Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) tomb0171 |
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About
Uploaded on Feb 18, 2011 Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) * Family: Papilionidae, ** Papilio cresphontes is a swallowtail butterfly common in various parts of North America, particularly the south and east. More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_sw... |
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Visitor Videos |
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Share your video of this insect. |
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Other Videos |
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| Schmetterling Papilio cresphontes Chrigu wälti |
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About
Published on Nov 11, 2012 Schmetterling Papilio cresphontes http://www.Tierportraet.ch |
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| The Osmeterium of the Swallowtail Butterfly Larva(Papilio cresphontes) texrednface |
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About
Uploaded on Sep 8, 2009 "The Osmeterium" of the Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio cresphontes) is a defense organ. The red "y-shaped" osmeterium extends when the larva is irritated. It emits a strong odor to repel some predators. Dr. J. W. Holloway demonstrates by stimulating the larva with a pair of blunt scissors. This larva was not harmed during the making of this video. ©2009 Dr. J. W. Holloway |
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| Almost tame Giant Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio cresphontes) Manfred Keller |
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About
Published on Aug 12, 2012 The Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) is a swallowtail butterfly common in various parts of North America and marginally into South America (Colombia and Venezuela only). In the United States and Canada it is mainly found in the south and east. With a wingspan of about 10--16 cm (3.9--6.3 in) it is the largest butterfly in Canada and the United States.This Giant gorgeous creature is even 7.8 inches wide. It slept in our backyard in Texas and was still there the next morning to say Hi |
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| Papilio cresphontes felipe JDM |
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About
Published on Mar 9, 2013 No description available. |
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| GIANT Swallowtail Butterfly mineral siphoning and butterfly pee slow motion HD 1080p GREENPOWERSCIENCE |
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About
Uploaded on Aug 25, 2011 http://greenpowerscience.com/ This Papilio Cresphontes is collecting minerals from the mud in our backyard. The Swallowtail Butterfly pees at 2:07 Casio EXILIM Pro EX-F1 at 300 fps |
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Visitor Sightings |
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Share your sighting of this insect. |
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| MuckStar 8/26/2018 |
Location: Southwest Minneapolis Flying into a stiff southern breeze, heading toward the phlox along the driveway. |
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| Diane 8/13/2018 |
Location: Saint Paul I did not see the butterfly, but I had 7 eggs, and now 7 little caterpillars on my rue plant. First time ever! |
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| Chris Mosley 8/10/2018 |
Location: 6 miles south of Prior Lake in Scott County This lovely butterfly floated around our front yard, and stopped long enough in the sunshine for me to take a photo (admittedly, a phone shot), then floated away again |
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| Rebecca Johnson 8/9/2018 |
Location: Wyoming, MN Feeding on coral colored phlox |
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| Candice Christensen 8/6/2018 |
Location: White Bear Lake. Ramsey County, MN |
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| William Thomas 7/28/2018 |
Location: near Miesville MN Observed three giant swallowtails at one time in garden at Pioneer Village! |
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| Jerry Fruetel 7/22/2018 |
Location: Bloomington, MN I took photos for several minutes of this swallowtail on my purple coneflowers. At one point, it sat beside a monarch on the same flower. |
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| Jason 6/10/2018 |
Location: Lake Elmo Amazing color. HUGE compared to the other moths and butterflies in the garden. |
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| Marlene 8/14 to 8/27//2017 |
Location: Brooklyn Park, Mn What a sight to see! My first encounter...loved those moments...Wow! |
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| Kathryn Rudd On my birthday! August 28 |
Location: Eagan, Mn Stayed a long time feeding from my lantana |
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| Janis 8/22/2017 |
Location: Saint Charles, MN Beautiful! Large dusty brown/black with soft yellow markings seen in my flower beds on geranium and petunia blooms |
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| Carol 8/6/2016 |
Location: Albertville. MN, south side of Cedar Creek Golf Course Fantastic! Amazing sunny day. It was eating nectar from my hanging baskets of petunias. |
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| Elizabeth Welty 7/22/2016 |
Location: Stillwater, MN |
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| Robert 8/10/2014 |
Location: South Minneapolis near 40th and 40th 11:30 AM |
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| Phil Wala 8/4/2014 |
Location: Savage, MN Seen in our wooded backyard in Savage around noon on 8/4/14. |
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| Tom Baker 8/3/2011 |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
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