Old World swallowtail
Papilio machaon
Butterfly
Large yellow-and-black swallowtail of the Holarctic region. Caterpillars feed chiefly on carrot-family plants (Apiaceae) and also use rue in parts of its range, making it the honest Old World counterpart for Mediterranean herb gardens where rue and fennel are grown as ornamental or herbaceous host plants.
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.
1 essential relationship / 5 supporting plants
Host/specialist links: 1
Forage/pollination links: 5
Shelter links: 0
Relationship roles: 2
Rue
Essential / Larval host plants
Old World swallowtail caterpillars use rue in parts of the species range; this is the precise swallowtail host link behind the rue foliage note.
Balloon flower
Supporting / Nectar plants
Old World swallowtail butterflies (Papilio machaon) forage nectar from open, upward-facing flowers in their native and European garden range; balloon flower's wide star blooms in summer are the type of resource this species uses.
Cheddar Pink
Supporting / Nectar plants
Old World swallowtail is recorded nectaring on Dianthus species in European calcareous grassland habitats where both co-occur.
Japanese flowering cherry
Supporting / Nectar plants
Old World swallowtail adults occasionally visit cherry blossoms for nectar in European settings.
Persian lilac
Supporting / Nectar plants
Old World swallowtail (Papilio machaon) is recorded nectaring on Syringa in European gardens; plausible on Persian lilac within its overlapping Palearctic range.
Red valerian
Supporting / Nectar plants
Old World swallowtail (Papilio machaon) is a frequently reported nectar visitor to red valerian in the plant's Mediterranean native range and in European gardens; a long-tongued generalist well suited to the spurred flowers.
Plants in the catalog
Larval host plants · 1
Old World swallowtail caterpillars use rue in parts of the species range; this is the precise swallowtail host link behind the rue foliage note.
Nectar plants · 9
Old World swallowtail butterflies (Papilio machaon) forage nectar from open, upward-facing flowers in their native and European garden range; balloon flower's wide star blooms in summer are the type of resource this species uses.
Old World swallowtail is recorded nectaring on Dianthus species in European calcareous grassland habitats where both co-occur.
Old World swallowtails (Papilio machaon) visit late-summer shrubs with accessible nectar across the species' native and naturalized Eurasian range.
Old World swallowtail adults occasionally visit cherry blossoms for nectar in European settings.
Old World swallowtail (Papilio machaon) is recorded nectaring on Syringa in European gardens; plausible on Persian lilac within its overlapping Palearctic range.
Old World swallowtail (Papilio machaon) is a frequently reported nectar visitor to red valerian in the plant's Mediterranean native range and in European gardens; a long-tongued generalist well suited to the spurred flowers.
The Old World swallowtail (Papilio machaon) ranges across coastal and grassland habitats co-extensive with Armeria maritima in Europe and is a plausible nectar visitor to the exposed, open flower heads.
Butterflies including the swallowtail nectar at open, daisy-type composites like this in sunny European meadows and gardens; graded plausible generalist nectar foraging, with the host plants for the swallowtail being umbellifers rather than this plant.
Within the native range the Old World swallowtail overlaps this lily across China, Japan, Korea and the Russian Far East, and the same swallowtail-type floral morphology applies. The best-studied Asian visitors to lilies of this shape are actually Papilio xuthus and the black swallowtails of the P. helenus and P. protenor group, none of which has an entry in this catalog and which are therefore named here rather than wired as relationships.
Range
Widespread across Europe, North Africa, temperate Asia, and parts of northwestern North America, with local subspecies and habitat preferences varying by region.
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.). Old World swallowtail (Papilio machaon). Retrieved 2026, August 20, from https://plotwright.com/wildlife/papilio-machaon
Sources used for this record
This record is compiled from the sources below.
UK Butterflies: Swallowtail
Species account used for identification, flight-season context, and larval-host ecology.
Wikipedia: Papilio machaon
Corroborating reference for the Holarctic range and Apiaceae/rue host-plant context.
GBIF: Papilio machaon
GBIF Backbone Taxonomy accepts Papilio machaon Linnaeus, 1758 as a species, matched exactly.
iNaturalist: Papilio machaon
iNaturalist taxon 56529 is the active species Papilio machaon, giving crowd-sourced observation range data.