Eurytides marcellus

Zebra swallowtail
Spring form

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Eurytides
Species:
E. marcellus
Binomial name
Eurytides marcellus
(Cramer, 1777)
Synonyms
  • Papilio ajax (Linnaeus)
  • Protographium marcellus (Cramer, 1777)

Eurytides marcellus, the zebra swallowtail (formerly listed under genera Protographium, Iphiclides, Graphium and Papilio by some authorities), is a swallowtail butterfly native to the eastern United States and south-eastern Canada. It is the state butterfly of Tennessee. Its distinctive wing shape and long tails make it easy to identify, and its black-and-white-striped pattern is reminiscent of a zebra.[2][3] The butterflies are closely associated with pawpaws, and are rarely found far from these trees. The green or black caterpillars feed on the leaves of various pawpaw species, while the adults feed on flower nectar and minerals from damp soil.

  1. ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0 Eurytides marcellus Zebra Swallowtail". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Brock was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pyle was invoked but never defined (see the help page).