Both male and female black swallowtails have distinctive markings on the undersides of the wings and the characteristic tail. The yellow spots are typically large and bright and the blue not very prominent on males, while females have smaller and lighter colored yellow spots but a prominent blue area (although some males have markings similar to females) – this difference is called sexual dimorphism. Red eyespot (red circle with a black bulls-eye) near the margin of each hind wing. On the upper surface there are two rows of yellow spots along the edges, with a powdery iridescent blue area between the two rows and a The female black swallowtail has more blue and less yellow on the wings. The wings are black with yellow, blue, orange and red markings. Females tend to be larger than the males, with a wingspan of 3¼ to 4¼ inches. The male black swallowtail has more noticable yellow and less blue on the wings.Īdult black swallowtails are usually found in open areas, such as fields, meadows, parks, wetlands, prairies and sunny backyards. It has been designated as the state butterfly of Oklahoma.

There are several subspecies that occur in Mexico, Central America and South America.

It ranges from southern Canada to northern South America, but is most common east of the Rocky Mountains. Papilio polyxenes is one of many species in the largest genus in the butterfly family Papilionidae (swallowtails). The black swallowtail – also called the eastern black swallowtail or American swallowtail and a variety of other colloquial names such as parsley worm – is a common butterfly found throughout much of North America. Black swallow tail is a common butterfly throughout eastern North America.

Black and white butterfly