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Black swallowtail
Black swallowtail
Papilio polyxenes
Butterfly
Eastern North American swallowtail whose larvae feed exclusively on plants in the carrot family (Apiaceae) — parsley, dill, fennel, carrot foliage, and native rue-anemone — plus a handful of Rutaceae. The "parsley worm" is the canonical garden-discovery moment introducing people to specialist host-plant ecology: a single small herb planting can host a multi-year resident population. Adult females are darker than males and mimic the toxic pipevine swallowtail; both sexes nectar on a wide range of native and ornamental flowers.
Plants in the catalog
Larval host plants · 8
Carrot
Daucus carota subsp. sativus
Specialist
Apiaceae specialist — carrot foliage is among the canonical garden hosts for black swallowtail.
Parsley
Petroselinum crispum
Specialist
Apiaceae specialist — parsley is the canonical garden host for black swallowtail caterpillars.
Celery
Apium graveolens var. dulce
Documented
Celery is a carrot-family (Apiaceae) plant, and University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension documents that black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) caterpillars feed on cultivated dill, parsley, fennel, celery, caraway, and carrot in backyard gardens — where the caterpillar can even be considered a pest.
Chervil
Anthriscus cerefolium
Plausible
Black swallowtail caterpillars host on carrot-family plants (Apiaceae) including dill, fennel, parsley, and carrot; chervil is the same family and is a plausible occasional larval host when left to flower, though far less documented than the core Apiaceae hosts.
Cilantro
Coriandrum sativum
Plausible
Black swallowtail caterpillars host on members of the carrot family (Apiaceae) including dill, fennel, parsley, and carrot; cilantro is the same family and is a plausible occasional larval host when allowed to flower, though it is far less documented than the core Apiaceae hosts.
Dill
Anethum graveolens
Documented
Dill is a larval host plant for the black swallowtail butterfly — both the Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder and the NC State Plant Toolbox name it specifically as a larval host. The caterpillars feed on the lacy foliage of dill and other carrot-family plants before pupating into swallowtails.
Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare
Documented
Fennel is a larval host plant for swallowtail butterflies — the caterpillars chew on the foliage and morph into swallowtails (Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder; NC State Plant Toolbox). The black swallowtail is the classic Apiaceae-feeding swallowtail whose larvae feed on fennel and other carrot-family plants.
Golden alexanders
Zizia aurea
Documented
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder names golden alexanders as a food plant for the larvae of the black swallowtail (and Ozark swallowtail) butterflies; the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center lists Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) as a larval host use.
Nectar plants · 1
Calendula (pot marigold)
Calendula officinalis
Plausible
Missouri Botanical Garden and NC State Extension both list Calendula officinalis as attracting butterflies; the showy open composite flowerheads offer accessible nectar to butterflies such as swallowtails, though the sources name only the butterfly category rather than this species.
Range
Eastern and central United States; southern Canada south to northern Mexico.
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