Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Virginia State Insect

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Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly

Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly photo by Luther C. Goldman / U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Official State Insect of Virginia

Virginia designated the tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus Linnaeus) as the official state insect in 1991. All State Insects

The tiger swallowtail butterfly is common in the eastern United States - a beautiful insect with a wing span up to 4.5 inches. Male tiger swallowtails are yellow with distinct, dark tiger stripes. Females come in two forms: one is yellow like the male, the other is black with mere shadows of dark stripes. The hind wing of females has a row of striking blue chevrons and an iridescent blue wash over parts of the interior hind wing.

Virginia

Images

Female eastern tiger swallowtail (black form); photo by HaarFager on Wikipedia published under terms of the GNU Free Documentation license Version 1.2 or later.

Female eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly © Jerry A. Payne / USDA ARS: www.insectimages.org.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly on flower

Videos

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly- male