Pollinator
Spicebush swallowtail
Papilio troilus
A blue-green dark swallowtail whose caterpillar mimics a tiny snake.
- Family
- Papilionidae (swallowtails)
- Wingspan
- 3 to 4 in (7.6 to 10 cm)
- Flight season
- Spring to fall
- Range
- Eastern United States
- Caterpillar food
- Spicebush and sassafras
- Conservation
- Secure and widespread
A large dark swallowtail washed with blue-green on the hindwings, the spicebush swallowtail is a butterfly of eastern woodlands and their edges.
Adults nectar on Joe-Pye weed, thistles, and honeysuckle, and like the pipevine swallowtail they gain protection from a dark, warning-colored pattern.
Its caterpillar is famous: green with large false eyespots that make it resemble a small snake, it feeds on spicebush and sassafras and shelters in a folded leaf.
Plants for the spicebush swallowtail
1 caterpillar host plant and 52 documented nectar plants. Pick a role, then narrow with the filters below.
52 plants
Nectar
1 of 2 Common Sunflower Helianthus annuus Nectar
1 of 3 Common evening-primrose Oenothera biennis Nectar
1 of 3 Mountain laurel Kalmia latifolia Nectar
1 of 2 Butterfly milkweed Asclepias tuberosa Nectar
Black raspberry Rubus occidentalis Nectar
1 of 3 Wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa Host + Nectar
Northern spicebush Lindera benzoin Nectar
1 of 3 Anise hyssop Agastache foeniculum Nectar
1 of 2 Dense blazing star Liatris spicata Nectar
1 of 2 Cardinal flower Lobelia cardinalis Nectar
1 of 2 Scarlet Beebalm Monarda didyma Nectar
1 of 2 Buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis Nectar
1 of 3 Sweetbay magnolia Magnolia virginiana Nectar
1 of 3 Moss phlox Phlox subulata Nectar
1 of 2 Sea Thrift Armeria maritima Nectar
1 of 2 Northern blue flag Iris versicolor Nectar
1 of 3 Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata Nectar
1 of 3 False sunflower Heliopsis helianthoides Nectar
1 of 3 Sweet Joe-Pye-weed Eutrochium purpureum Nectar
1 of 2 Common boneset Eupatorium perfoliatum Nectar
1 of 2 Wild columbine Aquilegia canadensis Nectar
1 of 3 Coral honeysuckle Lonicera sempervirens Nectar
1 of 2 New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae Nectar
1 of 2 Blue vervain Verbena hastata Nectar
1 of 2 Sweet Pepperbush Clethra alnifolia Nectar
1 of 2 Obedient plant Physostegia virginiana Nectar
1 of 2 Foxglove beardtongue Penstemon digitalis Nectar
1 of 3 Wild geranium Geranium maculatum Nectar
1 of 3 Virginia bluebells Mertensia virginica Nectar
1 of 2 Pickerelweed Pontederia cordata Nectar
1 of 2 Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica Nectar
1 of 2 Purple-flowered raspberry Rubus odoratus Nectar
1 of 2 Spreading dogbane Apocynum androsaemifolium Nectar
1 of 3 Possumhaw Ilex decidua Nectar
1 of 2 Flame Azalea Rhododendron calendulaceum Nectar
Lemon beebalm Monarda citriodora Nectar
1 of 2 Golden ragwort Packera aurea Nectar
1 of 3 Lyreleaf sage Salvia lyrata Nectar
1 of 2 Bottlebrush buckeye Aesculus parviflora Nectar
1 of 2 New York ironweed Vernonia noveboracensis Nectar
1 of 2 Fivespot Nemophila maculata Nectar
1 of 3 Western columbine Aquilegia formosa Nectar
1 of 2 Prairie blazing star Liatris pycnostachya Nectar
Whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata Nectar
Narrowleaf mountainmint Pycnanthemum tenuifolium Nectar
1 of 2 Hollow Joe-Pye Weed Eutrochium fistulosum Nectar
1 of 2 Virginia mountain mint Pycnanthemum virginianum Nectar
1 of 2 Dwarf larkspur Delphinium tricorne Nectar
Early azalea Rhododendron prinophyllum Nectar
1 of 2 Woolly cranesbill Geranium erianthum Nectar
1 of 2 Marsh Rattlesnake Master Eryngium aquaticum Nectar
1 of 3 Fire pink Silene virginica
1 of 21 of 31 of 31 of 21 of 31 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 31 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 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).