Description ²

Common. Flies most of the year.

The anise swallowtail has a wingspan ranging from 52 to 80 mm (2.0 to 3.1 in). Wings are mostly yellow, with black bands along the edges of both the forewings and hindwings. Distinguished from tiger swallowtail butterflies by being smaller in size and lacking the vertical black striping patterns. There are yellowish-orange to red eyespots near the tails of each wing, each containing a black pupil. The body is predominantly black, with yellow stripes running laterally along the abdomen.

Distribution ³

The anise swallowtail is a butterfly of fairly open country, and is most likely to be seen on bare hills or mountains, in fields or at the roadside. It is often seen in towns, in gardens or vacant lots.

The usual range of the anise swallowtail extends from British Columbia and North Dakota at its northern extreme, south to the Baja California Peninsula and other parts of Mexico. It is occasionally reported from the southeastern United States, but its normal range does not extend east of New Mexico. In all the more northerly parts of the range, the chrysalis hibernates.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Donna Pomeroy, all rights reserved, uploaded by Donna Pomeroy
2. Adapted by Donna Pomeroy from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papilio_zelicaon
3. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papilio_zelicaon

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• BugGuide
• Butterflies and Moths of North America
• CalPhotos
• CUIC Insect Images
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• Moth Photographers Group
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• Pacific Northwest Moths

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