Swallowtail
Papilio machaon Linnaeus, 1758
Status not recordedbutterflies and moths
The swallowtail (Papilio machaon) is an insect in the butterflies and moths group, belonging to the family Papilionidae in the order Lepidoptera. Its wingspan has a representative value of 7.3 cm, and our sources report values from 5.1 to 9.5 cm.
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Quick facts about the swallowtail
Other English names for it include Common swallowtail, Artemisia swallowtail, Old world swallowtail and Common yellow swallowtail. The species was named by Linnaeus, 1758, and is a living species according to the Catalogue of Life.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 5.1 cm – 11.3 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Nectarivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- flowerssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- grassland, human_modified, shrubland, wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- On the wing
- February to Decembersrc for On the wing
- Generations a year
- Severalsrc for Generations a year
- Larval food plants
- Apiaceae familysrc for Larval food plants
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the swallowtail?
Photos of the swallowtail
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the swallowtail live?
Not recorded
What is the swallowtail?
Papilio machaon, the Old World swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. The butterfly is also known as the common yellow swallowtail or simply the swallowtail (a common name applied to all members of the family, but this species was the first to be given the name). It is the type species of the genus Papilio. This widespread species is found in much of the Palearctic and in North America.
From the Wikipedia article “Papilio machaon” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Papilio_machaon&oldid=1368918577), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the swallowtail sound like?
Is the 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 swallowtail classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classInsecta
- orderLepidoptera
- familyPapilionidae
- genusPapilio
- SpeciesPapilio machaon Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Equites machaon, Papilio everesti, Papilio everesti alpherakyi, Papilio everesti everesti, Papilio everesti hookeri, Papilio everesti kiyonobu, Papilio hippocrates, Papilio hookeri, Papilio joanae, Papilio machaon alpheraki, Papilio machaon alpherakyi, Papilio machaon bajorum, Papilio machaon bigeneratus, Papilio machaon bimaculatus, Papilio machaon chinensis, Papilio machaon chinensis, Papilio machaon chinensomandschuriensis, Papilio machaon chitralensis, Papilio machaon emihippocrates, Papilio machaon f. alpica, Papilio machaon f. chrysostoma, Papilio machaon f. sikkimensides, Papilio machaon gorganus, Papilio machaon hieromax, Papilio machaon hispanicus, Papilio machaon impugnatus, Papilio machaon italicus, Papilio machaon kiyonobu, Papilio machaon kunkalaschani, Papilio machaon lapponica, Papilio machaon melitensis, Papilio machaon minschani, Papilio machaon nolico, Papilio machaon rinpoche, Papilio machaon rizvangul, Papilio machaon rustaveli, Papilio machaon schantungensis, Papilio machaon septentrionalis, Papilio machaon sphyrus, Papilio machaon var. aestivus, Papilio machaon var. centralis, Papilio machaon var. everesti, Papilio machaon var. hippocrates, Papilio machaon var. orientalis, Papilio machaon var. orientis, Papilio machaon var. pendjabensis, Papilio machaon var. proximus, Papilio machaon venchuanus, Papilio machon everesti, Papilio sikkimensis soi, Papilio sikkimensis yunnanensis, Papilis machaon
Other names and names in other languages (62)
- Artemisia swallowtailEnglish
- Common swallowtailEnglish
- Common yellow swallowtailEnglish
- Common yellow swallowtailEnglish
- Old World swallowtailEnglish
- Old World swallowtailEnglish
- فراشة ذنب السنونوArabic
- Голям полумесецBulgarian
- Papallona ReiCatalan
- Papallona reinaCatalan
- Farfalla finuchjaghjaCorsican
- otakárek fenyklovýCzech
- SvalehaleDanish
- Almindelig svalehaleDanish
- Gul svalehaleDanish
- SchwalbenschwanzGerman
- ΜαχάωνGreek
- Mariposa cometa macaónSpanish
- MakaonSpanish
- PääsusabaEstonian
- Makaon tximeletaBasque
- RitariperhonenFinnish
- MachaonFrench
- Grand porte-queueFrench
- Le Grand Porte-queueFrench
- SwellesturtflinterWestern Frisian
- MacaónGalician
- זנב סנונית נאהHebrew
- Lastin repCroatian
- fecskefarkú lepkeHungarian
- MacaoneItalian
- キアゲハ（黄揚羽）Japanese
- მაქაონიGeorgian
- 산호랑나비Korean
- SchmuebelschwanzLuxembourgish
- SchmuebeleschwanzLuxembourgish
- MachaonasLithuanian
- VyčiadrugisLithuanian
- Čemurziežu dižtauriņšLatvian
- Обична ластовичаркаMacedonian
- svalestjertNorwegian Bokmål
- KoninginnepageDutch
- KoninginnenpageDutch
- Paź królowejPolish
- Paz królowejPolish
- Borboleta Cauda-de-AndorinhaPortuguese
- Borboleta-cauda-de-andorinhaPortuguese
- Coada rânduniciiRomanian
- Fluturele coada rânduniciiRomanian
- beškkošbáđošNorthern Sami
- riddárbeaiveloddiNorthern Sami
- vidlochvost feniklovýSlovak
- LastovičarSlovenian
- Ластин репакSerbian
- MakaonfjärilSwedish
- RiddarfjärilSwedish
- KırlangıçkuyrukTurkish
- МахаонUkrainian
- Махаон (метелик)Ukrainian
- 金凤蝶Chinese
- 金鳳蝶Chinese
- 黃鳳蝶Chinese
Relatives of the swallowtail
Other species in the same genus Papilio.
Lemon butterfly
Papilio demoleus
Alexanor swallowtail
Papilio alexanor
Orange dog
Papilio demodocus
Common Mormon swallowtail
Papilio polytes
Corsican swallowtail
Papilio hospiton
Xuthus swallowtail
Papilio xuthus
CompareSwallowtail vs Lemon butterflySwallowtail vs Alexanor swallowtailSwallowtail vs Orange dogSwallowtail vs Common Mormon swallowtail
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the swallowtail?
The swallowtail is an insect in the butterflies and moths group. It belongs to the order Lepidoptera and the family Papilionidae.
How big is the swallowtail?
The swallowtail has a representative wingspan of 7.3 cm. Our sources report wingspans from 5.1 to 9.5 cm.
What is the scientific name of the swallowtail?
The scientific name of the swallowtail is Papilio machaon, in the genus Papilio.
Who named the swallowtail and when?
The swallowtail was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
What are other names for the swallowtail?
Other English names are Common swallowtail, Artemisia swallowtail, Old world swallowtail and Common yellow swallowtail.
Is the swallowtail extinct?
No, the swallowtail is a living species, not extinct, according to the Catalogue of Life.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Shirey, V., Larsen, E., Doherty, A. et al. (2022) LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits. Scientific Data 9: 382. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01473-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19874602.v1 - TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe · CC BY 4.0 · 2.0
Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Swallowtail (Papilio machaon). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/papilio-machaon
“Swallowtail (Papilio machaon).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/papilio-machaon.
@misc{papilio_machaon_2026,
title = {Swallowtail (Papilio machaon)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/papilio-machaon},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}