Swordtail Butterfly

Display approx. size: 7.75" x 7"

Specimen approx. size: 4.25" x 3.75"

**Farm raised, not captured in nature**

Graphium androcles, or giant swordtail, are named for their long tails protruding from their hindwings. This species has the largest tails of any butterfly from the swallowtail (Papilionidae) family. These tails are thought to help the butterfly escape predators in the wild. The butterfly doesn't need these tails in order to fly. So it is in hope that a predator will grab their tail instead of somewhere more critical on the wing or body, giving the butterfly a chance to get away relatively unscathed. The predator "swallows the tail", hence the name "swallowtail".