Eastern Giant Swallowtail - Species Profile
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List
not listed
NatureServe
N5 - Secure
S5 - Secure
Minnesota
not listed
Description
Eastern giant swallowtail is a large swallowtail butterfly. It is the largest butterfly in North America north of Mexico.
Adults have a wingspan of 4″ to 6¼″.
The upper side of the wings are dark brown, almost black. There are two bands of bright yellow spots, a subapical band and a basal band. The two bands cross near the tips of the forewings, forming an irregular “X” shape. The is an orange spot and blue scale on the inner margin. The hind wings have “tails” with a large, yellow spot.
The underside of the forewing is dark brown with two bands of pale yellow spots large enough to make the wing appear mostly pale yellow. The underside of the hind wing is mostly pale yellow with a median band of orange spots and blue scales.
The body is pale yellow.
The caterpillar is shiny dark brown with three white spots, mimicking a fresh bird dropping.
Size
Wingspan: 4″ to 6¼″
Similar Species
Habitat
Open woodlands, fields, hillsides near streams.
Ecology
Season
Two broods: early May, and late June through August.
Behavior
Life Cycle
Females lay single eggs on the leaves of host plants.
It overwinters as a chrysalis.
Larva Food/Hosts
In Minnesota, common hoptree and northern prickly ash.
Adult Food
Flower nectar.
Distribution
Sources
7, 21, 24, 27, 30, 75, 82, 83.
Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu. Accessed 4/25/2026).
Papilio cresphontes Cramer, 1777 in GBIF Secretariat (2023). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org. Accessed 4/25/2026.
Quinn, Edward. M., and Ron Danielson. April 27, 2009. A Survey of Lepidoptera in Three Priority Areas of the Minnesota State Parks System. https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/eco/nongame/projects/consgrant_reports/2009
/2009_quinn_danielson.pdf.
Occurrence
Common
Taxonomy
Order
Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily
Papilionoidea (Butterflies)
Family
Papilionidae (Swallowtails and Parnassians)
Subfamily
Papilioninae (Swallowtails)
Subtribe
Papilionini (Fluted Swallowtails)
Genus
Papilio (Common Swallowtails)
Subgenus
Heraclides
Genus
The name Heraclides was treated as a synonym of Papilio in 1983. It was treated as a valid genus from 2019 to 2023. Later in 2023 Heraclides was recognized as a subgenus of Papilio.
As of this writing, (April 2026), most sources classify Eastern Giant Swallowtail as Papilio cresphontes and list Heraclides cresphontes as a synonym. These include ITIS, Catalog of Life, NCBI, GBIF, Butterflies and Moths of North America, Discover Life, and BugGuide.net.
Butterflies of America, Moth Photographers Group, NatureServe, and iNaturalist classify Eastern Giant Swallowtail as Heraclides cresphontes.
Subordinate Taxa
Synonyms
Heraclides cresphontes
Common Names
Eastern Giant Swallowtail
Giant Swallowtail
Orange Dog (caterpillar)
