Black Swallowtail
Papilio polyxenes
Black Swallowtail · Brooklyn Botanic Garden · 31 August 2025
A Black Swallowtail on a low blue-flowered plumbago in the August border, orange and iridescent blue spots along the trailing edge of the hindwing. It is the swallowtail of open country and gardens across the eastern United States, and a herb bed with dill or parsley in it will breed them.
The caterpillars feed on plants in the carrot family, which makes this one of the easiest swallowtails to attract on purpose with an unsprayed herb bed. The caterpillar has a trick of its own: a forked orange horn behind the head that pops out when it is alarmed, smelling of rotten oranges.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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