Country intro
Old World Swalowtail Butterfly
Oud Heverlee, July 2013.
Butterfly with yellow wings with black vein markings, and a wingspan of 65–86 millimetres (2.6–3.4 in). The hind wings of both sexes have a pair of protruding tails which give the butterfly its common name from the resemblance to the birds of the same name. Just below each tail is a red eye spot.
This was atracted to a Butterfly-bush (Buddleja davidii), whose flowers are relished by several species of butterflies.
"Papilio machaon", the Old World swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. The butterfly is also known as the common yellow swallowtail or simply the swallowtail. It is the type species of the genus "Papilio". This widespread species is found in much of the Palearctic and in North America.
