Spicebush Swallowtail, reaching in
Papilio troilus
Spicebush Swallowtail · Brooklyn Botanic Garden · 19 August 2026
A Spicebush Swallowtail with its legs extended into a cardinal flower in the August border, reaching for the nectar at the base of the tube. A butterfly of the eastern woods wherever spicebush and sassafras grow, and a garden regular through August.
The pale blue wash across the hindwing and the row of pale spots along the edge separate it from the Black Swallowtail, which is otherwise the same shape and colour. Both are common visitors to cardinal flower, which is built for hummingbirds but doesn't turn a butterfly away.
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