When choosing the pollinator of the month, I really have not gotten into the whys yet. I just started this last month after reading a similar article in another blog. To choose this month's pollinator, I went to iNaturalist, searched by a date rage of July 2025, and looked for butterflies in Kansas. I choose the second most observed species.
The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
This is one of my own personal favorite butterflies. And while butterflies are not as good at pollinating as bees or flies, they are probably more well--known. And often more loved.
Why are they called swallowtails?
The name swallowtail comes from the distinctive, tail-like appendages on their hindwings that resemble the forked tails of swallows. There are more than 500 known species of swallowtails in the world, and only 30 of those are in the US.
Eastern tiger swallowtails are so-called because of the bold black stripes on its yellow wings, resembling a tiger's coat.
Where Are They Found?
The eastern tiger swallowtail is found in North America, from the Central Great Plains eastward to the Atlantic seaboard. In Kansas, they can be found from US Highway 81 eastward.
What Do They Look Like?
I Have already mentioned their coloring. But, the males of the species have darker markings with no blue or red markings on their wings. There is also a dark morph where black replaces the yellow in the wings. The black morphs also have the blue and red marking on the hindwings just like the normal females.
Their larvae appears first like an elongated bird dropping, moving slowly along the leaf. Later instars turn green, with bright yellow eye-spots on the front which are used to mimic a small green snake when attacked. Just before pupating, the caterpillar's last instar turns greenish-brown.
Host Plants
Unlike the Monarch butterfly, the eastern tiger swallowtail feeds on a greater host of plants. Mainly shrubs and trees in the Rose and Magnolia families, but also a few others. Th following list includes the more common host plants for the Central Great Plains Region:
- Green ash
- Black cherry
- American plum
- Chokecherry
- Tulip tree
- Apple
- Prairie crabapple
- Black willow
- American linden
Nectar Plants
Eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies eat nectar and "pollinate" a variety of flowers. But like many other pollinators, they are more attracted to plants with better access to nectar.
- Garden phlox
- Purple coneflower
- Tall thistle
- Prairie blazingstar
- Purple milkweed
- Common milkweed
- Mexican sunflower
- Buttonbush
- Ornamental onion
- Swamp milkweed
- Joe Pye weed
- Butterfly milkweed
- Western ironweed
- Zinnia
Conclusion
The eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly is one of the most well-known and loved butterflies in North America. It is the state butterfly for Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, and South Carolina. Feeding on a variety of trees and nectar plants has made it one of the most common species of butterflies east of the Mississippi River.
Happy planting!
