The caterpillars when mature are approximately 2.25 inches long. The first 3 instars are brown and white and look like bird-droppings. The 4th instar is a smooth green with 2 large black, blue and yellow eyespots. Behind the eyespots is a transverse yellow bar. It has a thickened thorax and a tapering abdomen. Just before it pupates the caterpillar turns brown. The individual shown here was about to pupate. The adult butterfly has a 4 – 5 inch wingspan. It is yellow with black “tiger stripes.” There is a long black tail on each hindwing. Females generally have more blue on the ends of the hindwings. There is a dark form female that is all black with a large blue area on the hindwings.
The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is a common species around Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods. Caterpillars can be found from mid-June to fall.
Larval foodplants are ash, cherry, willow, cottonwood, all Magnoliaceae species and others. The larva rests on the upper side of the leaf in a thin pad of silk. It overwinters as a chrysalis.
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