Last week the Giant Swallowtail butterfly visited our garden for a brief moment. I ran indoors to get my camera but it had departed by the time I returned. This morning my my friend John, who lives across from Folly Cove, emailed to say he too has spotted a Giant Swallowtail. John and I correspond regularly about butterfly sightings–I love to hear about what he is seeing on the other side of the island– and this is the first time both he and I have observed Giant Swallowtails in our gardens.
Giant Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio cresphontes)
Photo Courtesy Marti Warren
One of my readers, Marti Warren, wrote in on Monday that she spotted a Giant Swallowtail Butterfly last week in her garden in Amherst, New Hampshire.
Male Black Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilo polyxenes)
Three easy ways to know whether you are seeing the more common male Black Swallowtail or the Giant Swallowtail.
1) The wingspan of the male Black Swallowtail is approximately 3.2 inches; the Giant Swallowtail’s wingspan nearly five inches.
2) Both the male and female Giant Swallowtails have a band of yellow spots that converge near the apex.
3) Additionally the only blue irredescence on the Giant Swallowtail is a semi-circular “eyebrow” over the orange and black eyespots.
Let us know if you think you have seen a Giant Swallowtail in your garden recently. If you have a photo, even better!
I live in Wenham Massachusetts and today I saw a Giant Swallowtail at my butterfly bush. I took several photos and went online to see how common it was around here. This post was the first result and I’m surprised it’s from just 2 days ago! Anyway, I will be posting the photos on my facebook page.
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I’m pretty sure I just wet myself.
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Thank you Sarah for writing about your Giant Swallowtail siting. I’ll look for your facebook page.
Don’t mind the Editor-in-Chief–he just has a great sense of humor. It’s probably his way of pointing out that I probably should not have used three exclamation points over a butterfly sighting.
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Sarah – I went to your page and saw the photos of the Giant Swallowtail. Really gorgeous shots! Thanks for sharing. What a beautiful insect…
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me too debny and they are gorgeous shots! I would love to post on GMG and will send you a message via fb.
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You’re welcome! I’ve emailed Kim so she can share them on this site.
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Hi Sarah–I have not received the photos?
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August 25th 2012 East Marion long Island NY I spotted a giant swallowtail butterfly on a yellow lantana plant It kept coming back for nectar for about one hour thus giving me a chance to take pictures This is the first time I see one josephine
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I also have one in my yard. Milford NH but I have not been able to get a picture. He flies away when I approach.
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I think my cat got one yesterday… I thought it was some kind of small bat! 😦
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Photographed a Giant Swallowtail today with the bar across the top as in your pix. Will add to my Facebook page shortly. Thanks for the info in indentifying what it is.
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Thanks for writing Victor! In which state/town/county do you reside?
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I saw a Giant Swallowtail today in Upstate NY. By the time I got my camera it was gone. It was Huge and Beautiful! I’m not a butterfly watcher but this one really caught my eye.I had never seen one ever before.Got on the computer to look it up which brought me to this conversation. This may make me watch for Butterflies now. Rome, NY 13440
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Thanks so much Lynn for sharing this info. If they are as far north as Rome, then they most certainly could be in our region too. We’ll keep on the look out!
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There was one in my yard this evening in Los Angeles, CA. How do I send my pictures?
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my friend founed one and he facetimed me and told me
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