Scarce swallowtail
Iphiclides podalirius (Linnaeus, 1758)
LCLeast Concernbutterflies and moths
The scarce swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius) is an insect in the butterflies and moths subgroup, placed in the family Papilionidae of the order Lepidoptera. It is also called the Sail swallowtail or Pear-tree swallowtail, and its scientific name carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).
Quick facts about the scarce swallowtail
The species belongs to the genus Iphiclides and the superfamily Papilionoidea, within the class Insecta and phylum Arthropoda. It is a living species, and its global IUCN Red List category is Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 6 cm – 9 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Scavengersrc for Diet
- Main food
- flowerssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forest, grassland, rocky, shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- On the wing
- March to Octobersrc for On the wing
- Generations a year
- Severalsrc for Generations a year
- Larval food plants
- Rosaceae familysrc for Larval food plants
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the scarce swallowtail?
Photos of the scarce swallowtail
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the scarce swallowtail live?
Not recorded
What is the scarce swallowtail?
The scarce swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius) is a species of butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae. It is also called the sail swallowtail or pear-tree swallowtail.
From the Wikipedia article “Scarce swallowtail” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scarce_swallowtail&oldid=1324254567), 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 scarce swallowtail sound like?
Is the scarce swallowtail endangered?
The scarce swallowtail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the scarce swallowtail classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classInsecta
- orderLepidoptera
- familyPapilionidae
- genusIphiclides
- SpeciesIphiclides podalirius (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Equites podalirius, Iphiclides podalirius, Papilio flammaeus, Papilio podalirius, Papilio podalirius, Papilio podalirius nigrescens, Papilio podalirius smyrnensis, Papilio sinon, Papilio virgatus, Papilis podalirius
Other names and names in other languages (23)
- Pear-tree swallowtailEnglish
- Pear-tree swallowtailEnglish
- Sail swallowtailEnglish
- Sail swallowtailEnglish
- Pabor lost gwenniliBreton
- otakárek ovocnýCzech
- Glöyn Cynffon Gwennol PrinWelsh
- Gloynnod Cynffon Gwennol PrinWelsh
- Gul ridderDanish
- Sydeuropæisk svalehaleDanish
- Tiger-svalehaleDanish
- SegelfalterGerman
- purjeperhonenFinnish
- flambéFrench
- Flambé (Le)French
- slåpetornsvalestjertNorwegian Bokmål
- KoningspageDutch
- żeglarekPolish
- paź żeglarzPolish
- jadralecSlovenian
- segelfjärilSwedish
- podaliriusfjärilSwedish
- seglarfjärilSwedish
Relatives of the scarce swallowtail
Other species in the same genus Iphiclides.
Iberian scarce swallowtail
Iphiclides feisthamelii
Chinese scarce swallowtail
Iphiclides podalirinus
CompareScarce swallowtail vs Iberian scarce swallowtailScarce swallowtail vs Chinese scarce 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 scarce swallowtail?
The scarce swallowtail is an insect in the butterflies and moths subgroup. It belongs to the family Papilionidae in the order Lepidoptera.
What is the scientific name of the scarce swallowtail?
Its scientific name is Iphiclides podalirius, and it is placed in the genus Iphiclides.
Who named Iphiclides podalirius and when?
The scientific name authority is (Linnaeus, 1758).
Is the scarce swallowtail endangered?
No. Its global IUCN Red List category is Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.
What other names does the scarce swallowtail have?
It is also called the Sail swallowtail and the Pear-tree swallowtail.
Is the scarce swallowtail extinct?
No, it is a living species 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). Scarce swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/scarce-swallowtail
“Scarce swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/scarce-swallowtail.
@misc{scarce_swallowtail_2026,
title = {Scarce swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/scarce-swallowtail},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}