Scarce swallowtail
The scarce swallowtail is a very big butterfly with creamy white wings and black tiger stripes. Its back wings end in long, thin tails, with blue half moons and an orange spot near them. It glides through the air like a little sailing ship.
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Fun facts
Its caterpillar spins a little silk pad on a leaf and holds on to it tightly.
In summer the chrysalis is usually green, but the ones that sleep through winter are brown.
In the mountains it can live as high as 2,000 metres.
It is protected by law in many countries, because the blackthorn bushes it needs are being cut down.
You can see it flying from March to October.
Most asked questions about Scarce swallowtail
?How big is the scarce swallowtail?
Its wings are about 6 to 9 centimetres across. Females are a bit bigger than males.
?What does the scarce swallowtail caterpillar eat?
Leaves of blackthorn, hawthorn and fruit trees such as apple, pear and cherry.
?Is the scarce swallowtail really scarce?
No, it is common in many places. It is only rare in Britain, which gave it its name.
Myth buster
Myth: The scarce swallowtail is a very rare butterfly.
Truth: Not really. It got its name because it is rare in Britain, but in much of Europe and Asia it is quite common.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Iphiclides podalirius
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Group
- Butterflies
- Family
- Papilionidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Papilionidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia
- Also known as
- Sail swallowtail, Pear-tree swallowtail
Where the facts come from
- Scarce swallowtail (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Tbc. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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