Butterfly Spotlight: Zebra Swallowtail
Zebra swallowtails are one of my favorite kinds of butterflies. Here are three fun facts about them!
The zebra swallowtail is Tennessee’s state butterfly.
zebra swallowtail (Protographium marcellus) on orange butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
2. Zebra swallowtail larvae only eat the leaves of pawpaw trees, their host plant.
3. Zebra swallowtails have shorter proboscises than other swallowtails, so they prefer drinking nectar from flowers with flat landing sites such as echinacea, orange butterflyweed, verbena, and zinnias.
zebra swallowtail (Protographium marcellus) on zinnia
Do you have any zebra swallowtail facts? Post them in the comments below!
