Oregon swallowtail facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Oregon swallowtail |
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| A 1977 U.S. postage stamp featuring the Oregon Swallowtail butterfly | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Papilionidae |
| Genus: | Papilio |
| Species: |
P. machaon
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| Subspecies: |
P. m. oregonius
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| Trinomial name | |
| Papilio machaon oregonius W.H. Edwards, 1876
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The Oregon swallowtail (Papilio machaon oregonius) is a type of swallowtail butterfly. It lives in parts of the United States like Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. You can also find it in south-central British Columbia, Canada.
In 1976, this butterfly became famous. It was one of the first four butterflies ever shown on a U.S. postage stamp by the United States Postal Service. Later, in 1979, the Oregon Legislative Assembly chose the Oregon swallowtail as the official state insect for Oregon.
Contents
What Does the Oregon Swallowtail Look Like?
The adult Oregon swallowtail has a yellow body with black stripes. Its wings can spread from about 2.5 inches (6.35 cm) to 4 inches (10.16 cm) wide.
Its wings have special inward-curved spots. You'll also see a reddish-orange "eyespot" near the bottom edge. This spot is like the one on the common Old World swallowtail, but smaller. The yellow marks on the Oregon swallowtail's wings are also brighter. Like all swallowtail butterflies, it has a small tail on each hindwing.
When it's a young caterpillar, it is black with yellow patterns.
Life Cycle and Habits
These butterflies have two breeding seasons each year. You can see them flying from April all the way to September.
The butterflies that appear earlier in the year are usually lighter in color. This helps them blend in with the plants that grow in springtime.
Where Do Oregon Swallowtails Live?
The Oregon swallowtail lives in southern British Columbia, eastern Washington and Oregon, and into Idaho and western Montana. They mostly prefer the lower sagebrush canyons near the Columbia River and its smaller rivers.
When they are caterpillars, they eat a plant called tarragon sagebrush. As adult butterflies, they drink nectar from flowers. They especially like thistles, balsamroot, and phlox.
The pupa stage, called a chrysalis, can survive through the winter. This means they can stay in their cocoons until spring.
If you want to see them, a good place is along the Columbia River banks at Vantage, Washington. This is where Interstate 90 crosses the river.
The Oregon Swallowtail on a Stamp!
On June 6, 1977, the United States Postal Service released new stamps. These stamps showed different American butterflies, and the Oregon swallowtail was one of them! Each stamp cost 13 cents.
Soon after, this beautiful butterfly was chosen to be Oregon's state insect.
