Bug FAQPale Swallowtail
Papilio eurymedon · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Papilionidae
Also called: Pale Tiger Swallowtail, Pallid Tiger Swallowtail, Pallid swallowtail
The pale swallowtail is a medium-large butterfly with a wingspan of about 3.5 to 4.5 inches and pale cream or yellow wings marked with thicker tiger-like stripes and occasional red-orange patches. It lives in open woodlands, forest clearings, parks and sometimes suburban areas near permanent water, and flies from April to October, most often in May and July.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Its wings are pale cream or very pale yellow, with thicker tiger-like stripes and a submarginal band on the hindwing; some individuals have red-orange patches near the tail.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It prefers open woodlands, forest clearings near ponds, urban parks, and occasionally suburban areas.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of these host plants.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Most of its range has one generation per year, while the Pacific coast can have two or more. Caterpillars pupate in the fall, the pupae hibernate over winter, and adults emerge in spring.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing from April through October, with peak activity in May and July.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It looks very similar to the western tiger swallowtail.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 15 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I tell a pale swallowtail apart from a western tiger swallowtail?
Look for a paler cream or yellow ground colour, thicker tiger-like stripes, a submarginal band on the hindwing, and sometimes red-orange patches near the tail.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Papilionidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papilio_eurymedon
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.