Western Tiger Swallowtail

Description

The Western Tiger Swallowtail is a beautiful large yellow butterfly with black stripes. If you get the opportunity, use your binoculars, or try to photograph one, so you can review the pictures to see the detailed striping patterns. It has bold black stripes on its wings. The head and thorax are also yellow with black stripes. Their antenna are black. And the hindwings have a long tail that is also black and yellow.

The Western Tiger Swallowtail ranges in size from 2-1/2 to 3-1/4 inches.

This butterfly is very common throughout most of California. In fact, it can be found throughout most of western North America. During the warmer season, we will almost always see the Western Tiger Swallowtail while we are out hiking or mountain biking.

SubFamily: Swallowtail.

Field Notes

We have seen the Western Tiger Swallowtail in several different types of environments - the deserts of the Inland Empire, the San Gabriel mountains and foothills, the San Bernardino mountains and the coastal areas of Orange County. They also seem to be attracted to the citrus trees in our backyard.