Europe
Scarce swallowtail
Scientific name Iphiclides podalirius
- Wingspan
- 65-85 mm
- Max age
- 4 weeks
- Rarity
- uncommon
About this butterfly
The Scarce Swallowtail is a pale cream butterfly with black stripes and long tails. Its sailing flight along warm slopes, orchards and scrub is distinctive. The range is mainly southern and central Europe. Hosts are blackthorn, mahaleb cherry and other Prunus and related Rosaceae. Adults take nectar from flowers but are not a specialised pollinator of blackthorn. One or two generations fly according to climate, from spring into summer. The species has declined where traditional orchards and hedges vanish. It remains locally frequent in suitable southern landscapes. Basking with open wings shows the full striped pattern. This is a swallowtail of warm, shrubby country rather than northern fens.