Butterfly
Eastern tiger swallowtail
by Michelle Czaikowski Underhill, 2012.
The North Carolina General Assembly designated the Eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) as the official State butterfly of the State of North Carolina. The bill was ratified on June 11, 2012 and approved on June 15, 2012.
The Eastern tiger swallowtail is native to North America and is generally considered the first North American butterfly to have been drawn. The first drawing of it was by John White. White was an artist, cartographer, and is also known as the governor of the Roanoke Island colony that came to be known as the "Lost Colony."
About twenty-five other states either have official state butterflies or have butterflies as their official state insect. Delaware, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia all either have the Eastern tiger swallowtail as their official state butterfly or as their official state insect.
Information about Eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies may be found at:
- Wildlife Junior Journal, New Hampshire Public Television: http://www.nhptv.org/wild/karnereasterntigerswallowtail.asp
- Dodge, Greg. 2010. "Tiger swallowtails and others." NC Museum of Life & Science blogs. http://blogs.ncmls.org/greg-dodge/2010/08/04/tiger-swallowtails-and-others/
Additional resources:
Bowen, Liessa Thomas and Chris Moorman. 2002. Butterflies in your backyard: urban wildlife. North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, North Carolina State University. Online at http://www.ncsu.edu/goingnative/ag636_02.pdf
North Carolina General Assembly. 2012. "An act adopting the Eastern tiger swallowtail as the official State butterfly, designating the Shelby Livermush Festival as the official fall livermush festival of the State of North Carolina, designating the Marion Livermush Festival as the official spring livermush festival of the State of North Carolina, and designating the Swansboro Mullet Festival as the official mullet festival of North Carolina." Session Law 2012-29. Online at http://ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/SessionLaws/HTML/2011-2012/SL2012-29.html
Image credits:
White, John. 1585-1593. Tiger swallowtail butterfly. British Museum. Online at http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=753484&partid=1. Accessed 6/22/2012.
22 June 2012 | Underhill, Michelle Czaikowski
Comments
Cindy Henry replied on Permalink
Michelle,
Thanks so much for getting this information out there. I was one of the presenters at the social studies conference. Our garden club is sending the informational DVD to every school system so I hope you will follow up with the social studies contact person in your district.
callista replied on Permalink
i want to know why this butterfly was picked
Laney replied on Permalink
They picked this butterfly for several reasons including:
- It is found in all 100 counties of NC.
- John White sketched it when he visited the New World with one of the first colonies on Roanoke.
I went to a presentation by one of the women who helped get it chosen as the state butterfly, and these were two of the reasons she shared.
ehorton replied on Permalink
Thanks for posting a comment in NCpedia! For more detailed information about the butterfly and why it was chosen, please feel free to contact Reference Services at the State Library of NC's Government & Heritage Library. Good luck in your research!
Emily Horton
Government & Heritage Library
donivan replied on Permalink
very butyfulle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
alexis replied on Permalink
I think thetiger swallwotail butterfly looks cool, and cute. I think i sall one last week in my yard
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