Two-Tailed Swallowtail

Fascinating facts about the Two-Tailed Swallowtail

• Its wingspan stretches from 3 to 6.5 inches (7.6 to 16.5 cm), the greatest of any western North American swallowtail. It is also usually larger than similar swallowtails within its range, although some eastern tiger swallowtails are as big as any two-tailed.
• Each hindwing normally bears two long tails instead of the single tail seen in most swallowtails. Papilio multicaudata, the two-tailed swallowtail, is a species of the family Papilionidae found in western North America from British Columbia to Central America.
• The orange eyespots on its hindwings can fool predators into striking the rear, mistaking it for a head, which gives the butterfly a chance to escape. Most two-tails have a black "slit pupil" in the orange eyespot on each hindwing, never present in western tiger.
• Arizona proudly selected the two-tailed swallowtail as its official state butterfly, highlighting the species' regional significance. Throughout its range it favours habitats that stay moist, often nesting close to streams and in lush valleys where water is abundant. It is also comfortable in drier canyon corridors and can even be found in urban parks at lower elevations, showing a surprising adaptability to human-altered landscapes.
• The young caterpillar creates a safe feeding niche by folding a leaf of its host plant and fastening it with silk, then munching from the concealed pocket. Females lay each egg singly on suitable host foliage, ensuring the larva has immediate access to food. Its diet is diverse, encompassing chokecherry, bitter cherry, Arizona rosewood, single-leaf ash, hoptree and Arizona sycamore, which are all recorded as preferred plants across its range.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Two-Tailed Swallowtail

As the Two-Tailed Swallowtail dances through the sun-drenched meadows, its iridescent wings beat in a mesmerizing rhythm, casting a hypnotic spell on all who witness its ethereal flight. With delicate precision, it flits from bloom to bloom, sipping nectar and leaving a trail of wonder in its wake, its dual tails streaming behind like silken banners. In this whirlwind of color and motion, the Two-Tailed Swallowtail embodies the very essence of life and beauty, a fleeting yet unforgettable glimpse of nature's splendor.

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