CreatureData

Emperor swallowtail

Papilio hesperus Westwood, [1843]

Status not recordedbutterflies and moths

The emperor swallowtail (Papilio hesperus) is a species in the family Papilionidae, order Lepidoptera.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the emperor swallowtail

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Larval food plants
Lauraceae family
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the emperor swallowtail live?

Not recorded

Is the emperor swallowtail endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the emperor swallowtail classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderLepidoptera
  5. familyPapilionidae
  6. genusPapilio
  7. SpeciesPapilio hesperus Westwood, [1843]

Synonyms Papilio hermes, Papilio hermes var. pellax, Papilio hesperus maculatissimus, Papilio hesperus sudana

Other names and names in other languages (5)
  • Black and yellow swallowtailEnglish
  • Emperor swallotailEnglish
  • Hesper’s bush kite swallowtailEnglish
  • Hesperus swallowtailEnglish
  • オオシロモンアゲハJapanese

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the emperor swallowtail

Other species in the same genus Papilio.

Orange dog

Papilio demodocus

PapilionidaeNo free photo yet

CompareEmperor swallowtail vs SwallowtailEmperor swallowtail vs Lemon butterflyEmperor swallowtail vs Alexanor swallowtailEmperor swallowtail vs Orange dog

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

What kind of animal is the emperor swallowtail?

The emperor swallowtail (Papilio hesperus) belongs to the family Papilionidae in the order Lepidoptera.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Emperor swallowtail (Papilio hesperus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/papilio-hesperus

MLA

“Emperor swallowtail (Papilio hesperus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/papilio-hesperus.

BibTeX
@misc{papilio_hesperus_2026,
  title = {Emperor swallowtail (Papilio hesperus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/papilio-hesperus},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}