As its name suggests, the Zebra swallowtail, Eurytides marcellus, has a striking black-and-white-stripe pattern on its triangular wings, with additional colorful red and blue spots and reddish antennae. Like the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)—another Maryland native from the family Papilionidae—E. marcelllus’s wings end in thin tails. Zebra swallowtails are found in woodlands near rivers and swamps, the same habitat as its host plant, the pawpaw (Asimina triloba). Females lay their eggs singly on the leaves or trunks of the pawpaw so that the caterpillars have a ready food-source when they emerge. A benefit of subsisting on pawpaw leaves is the caterpillar’s ability to accumulate and retain the annonacin neurotoxin from the leaves, making them a less desirable meal for predators.

–Carly Davis