It is the largest butterfly in most of North America with a wing span of about 5-6 inches/13-15 cm. This one was resting on my Ligustrum and allowed me to take a few photos of it's prettiness. Giant Swallowtail Butterfly ( photo / image / picture from toni's Garden ) Along with the following nectar plants, the Giant Swallowtail will also drink from mud, fruit and manure. Hop Tree/Wafer Ash - Ptelea trifoliata Prickly Ash - Zanthoxylum americanum Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Milkweed, Butterfly Weed) Buddleja davidii (Orange Eye, Butterfly Bush) Lantana camara (Spanish Flag) Syringa vulgaris (Common Lilac) Phlox paniculata (Garden Phlox, Perennial Phlox) I have yet to find a caterpillar to photograph so this one will have to do. http://www.naturalwanders.com/SWALLOWTA ... ILLAR1.jpg Host plants for the caterpillars are any of the cultivated or native trees in the Rutaceae (citrus) family. And Ruta graveolens - Rue. The female will sometimes lay eggs on the Nagami Kumquat but the larvae do not survive. Their habitat ranges north to Virginia and Iowa, west into Arizona and south to the West Indies and northern South America.
That is a big beautiful butterfly. How nice of it to pose for your photos. That's a lot of great info you provided too. I have seen that caterpillar before, but never knew that it was the one for this butterfly.
