Lime swallowtail
Unlike almost every other swallowtail butterfly, the Lime swallowtail has no tails on its hindwings at all, yet still belongs to the same genus.
| Where | Gardens, forests and citrus groves |
|---|---|
| Size | 80 to 100 mm wingspan |
| When | April to November |
The Lime swallowtail is a black butterfly crossed by a broad, irregular yellow band, with a red spot edged in blue near the base of each hindwing tornus. Unusually for a swallowtail, it has no tails on the hindwings.
Caterpillars feed on citrus and related rue family plants and can build up quickly enough to strip young leaves from cultivated lime and orange trees. Adults fly for most of the year and are especially common after seasonal rains.
Traits
Habitat
Garden
Colour
Black, Yellow, Red
Active
Day
To people
Harmless to people; the caterpillars are a pest of cultivated citrus.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Has a short, spoon shaped tail on each hindwing and an overall yellow ground colour, unlike the tailless, black and yellow checkered Lime swallowtail.
Questions
Is the Lime swallowtail dangerous to people?
Harmless to people; the caterpillars are a pest of cultivated citrus.
When can you see the Lime swallowtail?
The Lime swallowtail can be seen from April to November, by day.
Plate retouched from a museum specimen photo by Swiss Natural History Collections - SwissNatColl, CC BY 4.0, GBIF Licence
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Butterflies and moths›Swallowtails›Papilio
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.