Bug FAQAppalachian Tiger Swallowtail
Papilio appalachiensis · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Papilionidae
It lives in Appalachian woodlands, staying in the forest canopy and venturing out only to feed on nectar from a variety of plants. The species is native to the eastern United States, ranging through the Appalachian Mountains from Pennsylvania to Georgia, and it produces one brood each year with eggs laid in May.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The wings are yellow with black patterns.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The wingspan ranges from about 86 to 115 mm (3.4 to 4.5 in).
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They gather in woodlands and openings, staying mainly in the forest canopy and only leaving to visit flowers.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of their host plants and overwinter as a chrysalis. Adults drink nectar from many plants, including mountain laurel, pink azalea, blackberry, cockspur thorn, multiflora rose, and bush honeysuckle.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The species has one generation per year. Females lay a single brood from May to June.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
They are native to the eastern United States, especially the Appalachian Mountains from Pennsylvania to Georgia.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It is a hybrid of Papilio canadensis and Papilio glaucus, sharing traits of both parent species.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 10 of 51 states and DC. Most records: North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Kentucky.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: endemic in North America; endemic in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do the caterpillars eat?
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of their host plants before overwintering as a chrysalis.
Source: Wikipedia
What flowers do the adults visit?
Adults sip nectar from plants such as mountain laurel, pink azalea, blackberry, cockspur thorn, multiflora rose, and bush honeysuckle.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I tell this butterfly apart from similar species?
It is a hybrid of Papilio canadensis and Papilio glaucus, showing a mix of their characteristics, especially the yellow-black wing pattern and the univoltine life cycle.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Papilionidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papilio_appalachiensis
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.