Pollinator
Canadian tiger swallowtail
Papilio canadensis
The northern tiger swallowtail, a single burst of yellow each boreal summer.
- Family
- Papilionidae (swallowtails)
- Wingspan
- 2.6 to 3.1 in (6.7 to 8 cm)
- Flight season
- Late spring to summer (one brood)
- Range
- Canada and the northern United States
- Caterpillar food
- Birch, aspen, cherry
- Conservation
- Secure and widespread
The northern counterpart of the eastern tiger swallowtail, the Canadian tiger swallowtail is a smaller, single-brooded yellow-and-black swallowtail of the boreal and northern forests.
It appears in a burst in late spring and early summer, gathering at puddles and nectaring on lilac, hawthorn, and other blooms across Canada and the northern states.
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of birch, aspen, and cherry.
Plants for the canadian tiger swallowtail
6 caterpillar host plants and 40 documented nectar plants. Pick a role, then narrow with the filters below.
44 plants
Nectar
1 of 2 Common yarrow complex Achillea millefolium Host + Nectar
Chokecherry Prunus virginiana Nectar
Black raspberry Rubus occidentalis Nectar
1 of 3 Wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa Nectar
Northern spicebush Lindera benzoin Nectar
1 of 3 Tall blue wild indigo Baptisia australis Nectar
1 of 2 Scarlet Beebalm Monarda didyma Nectar
1 of 2 Buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis Nectar
1 of 3 Moss phlox Phlox subulata Host
1 of 2 American plum Prunus americana Nectar
1 of 2 Northern blue flag Iris versicolor Nectar
1 of 2 Pink lady's slipper Cypripedium acaule Nectar
1 of 2 Wild columbine Aquilegia canadensis Nectar
1 of 3 Coral honeysuckle Lonicera sempervirens Host + Nectar
1 of 2 Fire cherry Prunus pensylvanica Nectar
1 of 2 Partridgeberry Mitchella repens Nectar
1 of 2 Great rhododendron Rhododendron maximum Nectar
1 of 2 Sweet Pepperbush Clethra alnifolia Nectar
Virgin's-bower Clematis virginiana Nectar
1 of 3 Wild geranium Geranium maculatum Nectar
1 of 3 Lance-leaved Coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata Nectar
1 of 3 Showy lady's slipper Cypripedium reginae Nectar
1 of 2 Pickerelweed Pontederia cordata Nectar
1 of 2 Purple-flowered raspberry Rubus odoratus Nectar
1 of 2 Silverberry Elaeagnus commutata Nectar
1 of 2 Showy milkweed Asclepias speciosa Nectar
1 of 2 Spreading dogbane Apocynum androsaemifolium Nectar
1 of 2 Golden Alexanders Zizia aurea Nectar
1 of 2 Wood Lily Lilium philadelphicum Nectar
1 of 3 Bluebead lily Clintonia borealis Nectar
1 of 2 Northern bush honeysuckle Diervilla lonicera Host
Hollyleaf cherry Prunus ilicifolia Nectar
1 of 2 Fivespot Nemophila maculata Nectar
1 of 3 Western columbine Aquilegia formosa Host
1 of 2 Water birch Betula occidentalis Nectar
1 of 2 Glacier Lily Erythronium grandiflorum Host
Prairie Crab Apple Malus ioensis Nectar
1 of 3 Rhodora Rhododendron canadense Nectar
1 of 2 Robin's-plantain Erigeron pulchellus Nectar
1 of 3 Sticky geranium Geranium viscosissimum Nectar
1 of 3 Field locoweed Oxytropis campestris Nectar
1 of 2 Woolly cranesbill Geranium erianthum Nectar
1 of 3 Narrowleaf Arnica Arnica angustifolia Nectar
Balsam ragwort Packera paupercula
1 of 21 of 31 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 31 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 31 of 31 of 21 of 3No plants match those filters.
Sources
- Butterflies and Moths of North America ↗
- iNaturalist ↗
- Plant associations from GloBI flower-visit records and NPIN larval-host data. Butterfly photographs via iNaturalist (CC BY).