The Largest butterfly in the world, the Queen Alexandra’s birdwing, is in the Swallowtail family. It’s wingspan reaches nearly 10″ (25cm). The largest US Swallowtail is the Giant with a wingspan of up to 7″.
In Florida there are 12 regular species of Swallowtail butterfly which are shown here in the guide. There are 2 other Florida Swallowtail species missing from this guide, the Androgeus Swallowtail, which has not been seen in Florida for many years and the Bahamian Swallowtail which is not considered a regular visitor to Florida at all. Even when it visits it only gets to the extreme south of Florida from the Bahamas.
Parnassians, unlike most butterflies, pupate inside cocoon-like webs, usually constructed among leaves or in rubbish piles. Parnassians are sometimes separated into their own family, Parnassiidae. They are white or yellow with black and red markings on the intriguingly somewhat transparent wings . They fly low to the ground and are only found in the West and North of the US. There are over 50 Parnassian species worldwide with 3 in the USA and none in Florida.