Spicebush Swallowtail
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 Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar
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| Papilio troilus Linnaeus, 1775 |
The spicebush swallowtail is a fairly black swallowtail found in North America. Identify the adults by their spoon-shaped tails and by their bright green (male) or iridescent blue (female) hind-wings. Ivory spots may be visible on the forewings, and orange spots may appear on the hindwings. Wingspan may be 3 to 4 inches.
You must seek these primarily black swallowtails in deciduous woods or woody swamps, where they can be found flying low and fast through shaded areas. The Spicebush Swallowtail is found only in the Eastern US and extreme southern Ontario, with occasional strays in the American Midwest and even Cuba.
The caterpillars live in folded leaf shelters and eat the leaves of the sassafras or spicebush. Adults consume a variety of nectars, including those from azalea, Japanese honeysuckle, milkweed, and thistle flowers.
Both sexes are thought to be edible mimics if the distasteful Pipe-vine Swallowtail. The Spicebush Swallowtail is the state butterfly of Mississippi.
