Tagged With: Spicebush Swallowtail

Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

Photograph taken on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 by Henry
Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

I’m pretty sure this is a spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus). There are three dark swallowtails that we see somewhat regularly. Most of them are dark form females of the eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). This is, in my experience, the second most common. Then there are the black swallowtails (Papilio polyxenes). They all look pretty similar and they all have a bit of variation in their coloration. Since I’m really not an expert, I could be wrong about this one. I’ll just leave it at that. It’s a pretty butterfly, in any case, and is enjoying the blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica ) in our front garden.

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Papilio troilus (Spicebush Swallowtail)

Photograph taken on Friday, July 23, 2021 by Henry
Papilio troilus (Spicebush Swallowtail)

Papilio troilus (Spicebush Swallowtail)

This spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus) was making the rounds in our front garden today. It didn’t really stay still and was a challenge to photograph. The wings were going the whole time, even when it sort of landed on the flowers and it didn’t stay on any one flower for long. Getting a picture where it was in profile was hard and any time I got too close, it would move to the other side of the garden. They’re pretty butterflies and I love to see them in addition to the more common tiger swallowtails (Papilio glaucus).

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Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

Photograph taken on Thursday, July 09, 2026 by Henry
Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

As mentioned in the previous post, we took a walk on the Cascade Loop Trail in Patapsco Valley State Park this afternoon. After passing the cascade, we continued up the stream for a good ways. We saw and I photographed a few bluebirds and heard a few other birds, but it wasn’t really the best time of the day for birds. We did see, and I was able to get a reasonable photo of this spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus) on a tree trunk. They are a fairly widespread species, found from southern Canada to Florida and west to Oklahoma and central Texas.

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