Zebra Swallowtail - Alabama Butterfly Atlas

Butterfly: Wingspan: 2½ - 3½ inches (6.0 - 8.9 cm). White with black stripes and long, slender tails; hindwing bears a bright patch of red above the eyespot on upper surface. Below, there is a bright red stripe through the hindwing. Spring forms are smaller, lighter, and have shorter tails. Tail length increases with each generation.

Egg: Greenish globes are laid singly on various parts of the pawpaw host, including flowers and buds.

Caterpillar: There are several color forms: green; green with light blue and yellow stripes. or charcoal black with white and yellow stripes. All have a humped appearance.

Chrysalis: Chrysalides are short and stout. Leafy green or bark brown. They are often attached to their pawpaw hosts and are the overwintering stage.

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A large, black-and-white-striped butterfly flying in Alabama is a Zebra Swallowtail. Slender striped wings are adapted for both maneuverability and camouflage, allowing Zebra Swallowtails to flutter and swoop through woodland understories. Visually, their telltale stripes make them difficult to follow as they glide through dappled sunlight and shadows.

Males patrol for females and may be observed flying low, back and forth along woodland trails within their habitat. Males also gather at mud puddles, wet roads and riverbanks to sip moisture.

Zebra Swallowtails belong to the worldwide group of Kite Swallowtails, a tropical genus named for its wing shape. They are the sole members that have adapted to our North American, less-than-tropical climate.

A dot on the county map indicates that there is at least one documented record of the species within that county. In some cases, a species may be common throughout the county, in others it may be found in only a specific habitat. The High Count information shows the highest numbers recorded for this species as well as when and where they occurred.

The sightings bar graphs depict the timing of flight(s) within each of three geographic regions. Place your cursor on a bar within the graph to see the number of individuals recorded during that period.

The abundance calendar displays the total number of individuals recorded within each week of the month. Both the graphs and the calendar are on based data collection that began in 2000.

The records analyzed here are only a beginning. As more data is collected, these maps and graphs will paint a more accurate picture of distribution and abundance in Alabama. Submit your sightings to albutterflyatlas@gmail.com.

Sightings in the following counties: Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton, Clarke, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington, Wilcox, Winston

Sightings in the past 5 years
Sightings in the past 5 - 10 years
Sightings more than 10 years ago

High count(s):

100 - Baldwin - 9/3/2016
64 - Bibb - 3/17/2019
55 - Shelby - 4/6/2002

View county names by moving the mouse over a county or view a map with county names

Jan				Feb				Mar				Apr				May				Jun				Jul				Aug				Sep				Oct				Nov				Dec
1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4
	1					3	2	37	126	337	537	395	227	263	128	198	161	134	153	122	53	21	36	15	19	17	30	12	22	36	30	127	64	22	76	49	7	22	36	7

Hardwood forests as well as bottomlands. Tolerates development poorly.

Zebra Swallowtails have a much shorter proboscis than other swallowtails and typically nectar from short-tubed flowers that include blueberries, blackberries, wild plums, blue stars, and milkweeds.

Zebra Swallowtail caterpillars feed exclusively on various species of pawpaw (Annonaceae).

Common Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) and Dwarf Pawpaw (Asimina parviflora) are documented as hosts in Alabama.

For more information about these plants, please visit the Alabama Plant Atlas using the links above.

Zebra Swallowtail (*Eurytides marcellus*)

County

© Sara Bright

Zebra Swallowtail on Common Pawpaw

Zebra Swallowtails rarely visit gardens and seldom stray far from the woods. However, adding pawpaws to your landscape may entice them to visit if connected to the right habitat.

Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus) Photos

Click on individual photos to view a larger version that includes photo credits, county, and date.
Photos with comments are indicated by a small, tan dot on the bottom right.