---
title: "Black Swallowtail"
description: "Papilio polyxenes — Insetos e aranhas. Papilio polyxenes, the (eastern) black swallowtail, American swallowtail or parsnip swallowtail, is a butterfly found throughout much of North America."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pt/animal/black-swallowtail
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Black Swallowtail

> Papilio polyxenes — Insetos e aranhas. Papilio polyxenes, the (eastern) black swallowtail, American swallowtail or parsnip swallowtail, is a butterfly found throughout much of North America.

- Scientific name: *Papilio polyxenes*
- Category: `insects` (Insetos e aranhas)
- Habitats: `urban` (Cidades e jardins)
- iNaturalist observations: 145533
- Wikidata: [Q134744](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q134744)
- iNaturalist taxon: [58523](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/58523)

## Names

- en: Black Swallowtail
- es: Mariposa cometa negra
- fr: Papillon du céleri

## Countries with the most observations

US (115413), CA (19872), MX (4553), CO (426), CR (286), EC (183), HN (170), GT (65), NI (55), PA (40), SV (15), PE (11)

## Summary

Papilio polyxenes, the (eastern) black swallowtail, American swallowtail or parsnip swallowtail, is a butterfly found throughout much of North America. An extremely similar-appearing species, Papilio joanae, occurs in the Ozark Mountains region, but it appears to be closely related to Papilio machaon, rather than P. polyxenes. The species is named after the figure in Greek mythology, Polyxena (pron.: /pəˈlɪksɨnə/; Greek: Πολυξένη), who was the youngest daughter of King Priam of Troy. Its caterpillar is often called the "parsleyworm" because the caterpillar feeds on parsley. 

The Papilio polyxenes demonstrates polyandry…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papilio_polyxenes

## Photo

![Black Swallowtail](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/black-swallowtail/medium.jpg)

Photo: Audrey McGovern · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/133528675

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/black-swallowtail?lang=pt` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).