Maine is home to 7 species in 2 genera. If you know which species you have or are interested in learning about, click on the appropriate link from the species list below. Otherwise, to determine which genus your swallowtail belongs to, refer to the table below the species list.
Battus (1 species)
Battus philenor - pipevine swallowtail
Papilio (6 species)
Papilio polyxenes - black swallowtail
Papilio brevicauda - short-tailed swallowtail
Papilio glaucus - eastern tiger swallowtail
Papilio canadensis - Canadian tiger swallowtail
Papilio troilus - spicebush swallowtail
Papilio cresphontes - giant swallowtail
char. 1 | char. 2 | char. 3 | |
Battus philenor | |||
Papilio |
Battus (swallowtail)
[information to be added]
Battus philenor (pipevine swallowtail) - The Maine Butterfly Survey (2007–2016) determined this species to be a “rare stray”.
Papilio (swallowtail)
[information to be added]
red font = character state unique or nearly so | principal color(s) | char. 2 | char. 3 | char. 4 | char. 5 | char. 6 |
P. polyxenes | black | |||||
P. brevicauda | black | |||||
P. glaucus | yellow | |||||
P. canadensis | yellow | |||||
P. troilus | black | |||||
P. cresphontes | black and yellow |
Papilio polyxenes (black swallowtail) - The subspecies that has been reported from Maine is asterius.
Papilio brevicauda (short-tailed swallowtail) - The subspecies that has been reported from Maine is gaspeensis.
Papilio glaucus (eastern tiger swallowtail) - [information to be added]
Papilio canadensis (Canadian tiger swallowtail)
(click on image to enlarge)
Papilio troilus (spicebush swallowtail) - [information to be added]
Papilio cresphontes (giant swallowtail) - [information to be added]