Schaus' Swallowtail

Schaus' swallowtail has black-brown wings with yellow markings and a broad rusty patch underneath the hindwing. The male's antennae are black with a yellow knob, while the female's antennae are all black. Their forewings have a dull yellow median band from the apex to about midpoint of the inner margin, with a short side branch to costa about one-third the distance from the apex. This species may be confused with Papilio cresphontes the giant swallowtail, but they can be differentiated by the small red patch on the ventral wing (within the small blue band) of the giant swallowtail, which the Schaus' swallowtail doesn't have.

In the United States, Schaus's swallowtail is indigenous to the southern tip of Florida. Historically it occurred in tropical hardwood hammock from South Miami to Lower Matecumbe Key, Florida. These butterflies inhabit the hardwood hammocks of the area where they prefer to stay out of direct sunlight. While they inhabit the islands around southern Florida, they are known to live at a relatively high elevation (3.0 to 4.6 meters above sea level), staying away from the tidal waters. Today, it is only found around the Florida Keys, mainly in the islands of Biscayne National Park and Key Largo. It is also found in The Bahamas, Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti), the Cayman Islands, Cuba, and possibly Puerto Rico.

Torchwood is the primary source of food. Adults have been observed taking nectar from blossoms of guava, cheese shrub, hibiscus and wild coffee. Guava, although an exotic, seemed to be the nectar source preferred by individuals. Schaus' swallowtails will fly some distance from their homes to find blooming guava flowers. Caterpillar host plants are in the family Rutaceae and include hoptree (Ptelea trifoliata), citrus species, sea torchwood (Amyris elemifera), and lime prickly-ash (Zanthoxylum fagara).