Swallowtail Butterflies

Swallowtails are medium to large butterflies distinguished by the protuberances on their hindwings – the “swallow-tails”. They all have multiple generations and adults are found in Chapel Hill from spring through fall, often flying in the trees. They are amongst our most well-known butterflies.

Swallowtails

Butterflies	Size of Adult	Where found	When seen	Larval plants	Interesting facts
Eastern tiger swallowtail $C:\Users\Karen\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Word\eastern tiger swallowtail ventral lantana.jpg$	large,3.5 -5.5 inches	mixed forest, by streams, gardens	Mar-Oct	Cherry, Ash, Tulip tree	State butterfly of S. Carolina
Spicebush swallowtail $C:\Users\Karen\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Word\spicebush swallowtail2.jpg$	large, 3-5 inch	woodlands, forest edges, gardens, fields	Mar-Oct	Sassafras, Red Bay and Spicebush	Larva curl up in leaves for shelter
Pipevine swallowtail	large, 2-4 inch	fields, roadsides, gardens, marshs	Mar-Nov	Pipevine, wooly pipevine	Larva are toxic from eating pipevine; many butterflies mimic this one.
Black swallowtail	large, 2 - 4 inch	fields, roadsides, gardens, marshs, farms	Mar-Oct	Dill, parsley, queen anne’s lace; Golden Alexanders (Zizia Aurea), Texas Prairie Parsley (Polytaenia texana), Polytaenia nutallii (Nutall’s Prairie Parsley), possibly other plants in Apiaceae family.	Caterpillars striped, called “parsley worms”

Sulphurs and Whites

This group includes the medium sized yellow, orange and white butterflies seen flying in Chapel Hill in the summer and fall. Many of the sulphurs are hard to distinguish when their wings are folded, and often it is the flash of orange, yellow-green or lemon yellow when they are in flight that is the only clue to separate them. Some have a very long proboscis and favor deep, tubular flowers.

Sulphurs

Butterflies	Size of Adult	Where found	When seen	Larval plants	Interesting facts
Sleepy Orange $C:\Users\Karen\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Word\sleepy orange 2 on zinnia.jpg$	1.3-2.0 inch	open, disturbed sites	Jun-No v	various wild sennas	Dorsal wings are orange, only way to tell it from sulphurs
Orange sulphur	1.6-2.4	open sunny sites	Mar-Nov	Alfalafa, clover, vetch	Pest of alfalfa fields
Clouded Sulphur	1.9-2.75	open, sunny sites	Mar-Oct	Weedy legumes, red clover, white clover, lespedezas	Common.
Cloudless Sulphur	2.2-2.8 inch	open, disturbed sites, parks, gardens	Mar-Nov	Partridge pea, various wild sennas and legumes	Very long proboscis, likes tubular flowers

Whites

Butterflies	Size of Adult	Where found	When seen	Larval plants	Interesting facts
Falcate Orange tip	1.25-1.75	lowland forests, deciduous woods, assoc clearing	Apr-Nov	Partridge pea, sensitive pea	Usually found in thin woods and clearings
Cabbage White	1.5-2.0	Mustard family incl. crops-cabbage, broccoli, radish	Mar-Nov	herb. Plants in mustard family-rockcress,bittercress, toothwort, others	Accidentally introduced from Europe in 1860.

Girl Scout Butterfly Air Garden

Swallowtail Butterflies

Sulphurs and Whites