Giant swallowtail
Papilio cresphontes
The largest butterfly in North America, with a wingspan reaching roughly 4 to 6 inches. Larvae are specialists on the citrus family (Rutaceae), feeding on native prickly ash (Zanthoxylum), common hoptree (Ptelea trifoliata), and cultivated citrus such as lemon and orange — where the caterpillar is known to growers as the "orangedog." The larva mimics a fresh bird dropping for defense, and adults nectar on a range of flowers including goldenrod, swamp milkweed, and lantana.
Conservation
NatureServe rates the eastern giant swallowtail as Secure (G5); it is not IUCN-listed, not on the Xerces Society Red List, and not federally listed. Its northern range has expanded measurably over the past two decades, a shift attributed to warming and the loss of early-autumn frosts.
Range
Common across the eastern and southern United States, reaching north to southern New England and southern Ontario/Quebec, with continued documented northward expansion; also present in Mexico, Cuba, and Jamaica. Western North American populations are now treated as a separate species, Papilio rumiko.