Swallowtail butterfly: The handsome butterfly with tails

The swallowtail is one of the easiest butterflies to meet: bright yellow wings with black markings and a pair of slender tails trailing from its hindwings. It is found very widely, from gardens to mountains. Let's meet this beautiful flower visitor.

Its body

The most striking feature of the swallowtail is the pair of pointed "tails" on its hindwings. Those tails are clever: when a bird attacks, it often seizes the tail tip, so the butterfly escapes with just a lost wingtip. Its caterpillar feeds on carrot-family plants like carrots and celery. When threatened, it pushes out a pair of bright orange stink-horns from behind its head, giving off an unpleasant smell to repel predators.

When it is ready to pupate, the caterpillar spins a silken girdle so the chrysalis hangs slung across a twig — like a tiny hammock in mid-air.

Where it lives and what it eats

Adult swallowtails drink nectar and are important pollinators. They love sunny, flower-filled places and flit among the blossoms, helping many plants in return for food.

A note for grown-ups

You could look with a child for a swallowtail flying low in the garden and count the tails on its hindwings. Then think about it: the butterfly helps plants by pollinating, and plants give the butterfly food — those two are "good friends".