How to Draw a Swallowtail

In this quick tutorial you’ll learn how to draw a Swallowtail in just a few quick steps, but first…

Interesting Facts about the Swallowtail Butterfly

The Swallowtail Butterfly is a member of the insect family and the scientific term for them is Papillio schmeltzii. A swallowtail species may get its name from the fact that birds who try to eat the butterflies with a tail, will only swallow the tail, so that this insect can survive the attack. The tail on a butterfly only slightly attaches to the wing and is brittle, making it easy for the insect to escape when a bird bites it. This strategy is similar to how a lizard detaches its tail to avoid being eaten by a bird. The binomial name is Latin for “butterfly” (Papilio) and “Johann Schmeltz” (schmeltzii), which credits the person responsible for inspiring this particular insect.

Did you know?

Johann Schmeltz was a German naturalist.
The animal was first documented in 1869.
Dr. Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schaffer was a German who discovered this species.
They were added to the “Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World” book in 1985.
This insect is a native to the islands of Fiji.

These animals are black with white stripes, having blue and orange spots on the wing’s edges. When the baby makes a pupa on a plant’s branch to transform from its caterpillar stage, it appears as a new leaf unfolding. Since there are so few of these creatures, they are threatened with the possibility of extinction.