Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly
| Swallowtail Butterflies (Papilionidae) Anise Swallowtail Clodius Parnassian Eastern Black Swallowtail Giant Swallowtail Pale Swallowtail Pipevine Swallowtail Spicebrush Swallowtail Zebra Swallowtail Types of Butterflies |
For identification purposes, their brighter yellow wings are almost always compared to the paler color wings of the Pale Swallowtail.
They are a late spring and early summer species whose larvae feed on leaves from cherry, willow and other trees. Because many of these trees are common in residential areas, the butterfly is commonly seen in local neighborhoods.
The striped wings make them a fairly easy to identify species.
Variation between the Western Tiger Swallowtail and the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is most apparent in the female of the species. Eastern Tiger Swallowtails come in both a light (yellowish) and dark wing color. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail females also have more blue spots at the bottom of the wings.
© 2008 Patricia A. Michaels