Old World Swallowtail
Papilio machaon
Insecta
COMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- A few weeks
- Size
- Large
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Social
- Solitary
- Biome
- Temperate grassland
- Range
- Holarctic
- Movement
- Flight
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Warning Colors
- Status
- Common
About
One of Europe's most recognisable butterflies, the Old World Swallowtail bears bold yellow wings edged with black and a row of blue crescents above twin red eyespots near its elegant tail extensions. When threatened, its caterpillars evert a forked orange gland called an osmeterium that releases a sharp, musky odour to deter predators.
Life cycle
- 1.eggA tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
- 2.caterpillarA voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
- 3.chrysalisA chrysalis hangs sealed and still while the body remodels into a winged adult.
- 4.butterflyA winged adult with full scales and coloration, ready to fly and mate.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera
- Family
- Papilionidae
- Genus
- Papilio
- Species
- Papilio machaon