Eastern tiger swallowtail
Papilio glaucus
Butterfly
Large yellow-and-black butterfly common across eastern North America. Adults nectar on a wide variety of native perennials including coneflower, bee balm, garden phlox, and butterfly weed; larvae feed on tulip tree, wild cherry, and other native trees.
Plan for this species
Location-fit plant set for Chicago, IL: host and specialist plants first, then nectar, fruit, seed, foliage, and shelter plants that still fit the current and mid-century climate read.
6 essential relationships / 0 supporting plants
Host/specialist links: 6
Forage/pollination links: 0
Shelter links: 0
Relationship roles: 1
American plum
Essential / Larval host plants
Prunus americana is a documented larval host for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and other butterflies; the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center notes the plants "are a host to many butterflies," and Missouri Botanical Garden lists the species among host plants for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.
Black cherry
Essential / Larval host plants
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center lists black cherry as a larval host for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail; Prunus serotina is one of this swallowtail's key native host trees across the East.
Black willow
Essential / Larval host plants
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center lists black willow as a larval host plant for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (along with the Acadian Hairstreak, Mourning Cloak, Viceroy, and Red-spotted Purple - willows are among the most important larval hosts of native North American trees).
Eastern cottonwood
Essential / Larval host plants
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center lists eastern cottonwood as a larval host for Tiger Swallowtail (along with Mourning Cloak, Red-spotted Purple, and Viceroy) - poplars and cottonwoods are well-known caterpillar host trees.
European plum
Essential / Larval host plants
The NC State Plant Toolbox documents Prunus domestica as a larval host plant for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus).
Pussy willow
Essential / Larval host plants
Willows (Salix) are a documented larval host for the eastern tiger swallowtail among the many Lepidoptera that use the genus.
Plants in the catalog
Larval host plants · 14
Prunus americana is a documented larval host for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and other butterflies; the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center notes the plants "are a host to many butterflies," and Missouri Botanical Garden lists the species among host plants for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center lists black cherry as a larval host for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail; Prunus serotina is one of this swallowtail's key native host trees across the East.
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center lists black willow as a larval host plant for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (along with the Acadian Hairstreak, Mourning Cloak, Viceroy, and Red-spotted Purple - willows are among the most important larval hosts of native North American trees).
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center lists eastern cottonwood as a larval host for Tiger Swallowtail (along with Mourning Cloak, Red-spotted Purple, and Viceroy) - poplars and cottonwoods are well-known caterpillar host trees.
The NC State Plant Toolbox documents Prunus domestica as a larval host plant for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus).
Both sources document fennel as a larval host for "certain swallowtail butterflies" without naming each species; swallowtail host use is recorded here as the genus-level relationship the sources state.
Willows (Salix) are a documented larval host for the eastern tiger swallowtail among the many Lepidoptera that use the genus.
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center lists quaking aspen as a larval host for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (and the Viceroy). Aspens and poplars are well-documented butterfly host trees.
Cherries (Prunus) are documented larval host plants for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail; graded plausible for Prunus cerasus specifically.
NC State Extension documents Prunus avium as a larval host plant for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus).
NC State documents tulip tree as the primary larval host for Papilio glaucus, supporting three flights in the deep south (February-November) and one in the north (March-September). The wedge-relevant relationship for eastern butterfly-garden design: planting tulip tree is among the most direct ways to support local eastern tiger swallowtail populations.
Willows (Salix) are among the documented larval host trees of the eastern tiger swallowtail across its range; Salix babylonica is a non-native willow that can serve the same role where planted.
Ash (Fraxinus) is a well-documented native larval host for the eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus), whose caterpillars feed on the compound foliage.
Nectar plants · 41
NC State Extension lists the flowers as attracting butterflies. The long, narrow nectar tube favors long-tongued butterflies such as swallowtails; mapped here as a representative documented butterfly visitor rather than a recorded specialist relationship.
A frequent, conspicuous nectar visitor; swallowtails are among the most reliable butterflies at the flower spikes.
Large swallowtails are the other body plan that can work a pendent lily: they cling to the tepals and beat their wings while probing, and in doing so contact the exserted anthers with the wing bases and body. Eastern tiger swallowtail flies through the June to July bloom across essentially the whole of this lily's native range.
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists cardinal flower as attracting butterflies; large swallowtails with long proboscises are among the few insects that can reach the nectar in the long red tube.
Large butterflies will nectar at fragrant single carnations, though this Mediterranean exotic is not a primary host or nectar source in eastern gardens.
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder notes the flowers are a nectar source for butterflies; large swallowtails are typical visitors to spring-blooming Appalachian rhododendrons, though the source does not name species.
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags Humulus lupulus var. lupuloides as a plant that attracts butterflies; this is kept as a broad plausible nectar-use row, while the named Question Mark and Red Admiral larval-host rows are asserted separately.
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists common lilac as attracting butterflies; the fragrant spring panicles are a nectar source for swallowtails and other early-season butterflies.
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists daylilies as attracting butterflies; large swallowtails such as the eastern tiger swallowtail nectar at the open flowers.
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists the species under "Attracts: Butterflies" for its showy fragrant spring flowers; the specific butterfly species are not named, so this is mapped as a plausible nectar visitor rather than a documented host relationship.
The Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder and NC State Extension both report that the showy flat-topped flower clusters of Spiraea japonica attract butterflies for nectar. Mapped to a representative widespread eastern nectar-feeding butterfly; the sources document butterfly attraction at the category level rather than naming species.
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists the flowers as attractive to butterflies; lantana is a widely used nectar plant for large swallowtails, though MBG names butterflies only as a group rather than this species.
Swallowtails nectar readily at phlox; moss phlox offers early-season fuel as the first brood is on the wing.
Large swallowtails such as the eastern tiger swallowtail nectar at the open trumpet flowers through the summer bloom.
Large swallowtails are the principal butterfly pollinators of native azaleas - their wings brush the far-exserted stamens as they probe the long corolla tube.
Range
Eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida.
Sources & citations
Cite this page
Use this citation for the Plotwright wildlife record. Use the source cards below to explore the references that informed its taxonomy, range, conservation, host plants, foraging, and habitat.
Plotwright. (n.d.). Eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). Retrieved 2026, August 20, from https://plotwright.com/wildlife/eastern-tiger-swallowtail
Sources used for this record
This record is compiled from the sources below.
BAMONA: Eastern tiger swallowtail
Species profile for range, larval host trees, adult nectar use, and life-history context.
MDC Field Guide: Eastern tiger swallowtail
State agency species account used for identification detail, larval and adult food, and life-cycle timing. Missouri-scoped, so it is not cited for continental range.
Wikipedia: Papilio glaucus
Corroborating reference for eastern North American range, swallowtail identity, and larval host tree list.
GBIF: Papilio glaucus
GBIF Backbone Taxonomy accepts Papilio glaucus Linnaeus, 1758 as a species, matched exactly.
iNaturalist: Papilio glaucus
iNaturalist taxon 60551 is the active species Papilio glaucus, giving crowd-sourced observation range data.