The Common Yellow Swallowtail (Papilio machaon britannicus) is a butterfly, common across Europe, Russia, China, Japan, Canada, Asia, the Middle East, and the United States of America.

The Common Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly has yellow wings with black vein markings. It has long tails with a red eye spot.

Common Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly (photographed in Tbilisi, Georgia)

Its wingspan is about 65 millimetres (2.6 inches) wide.

It sips nectar from flowers. Females lay eggs on plants. The eggs hatch into caterpillars, which are green with black and orange marks. The caterpillar feeds on plant leaves until it pupates into a chrysalis. The butterfly emerges from the chrysalis after 9-15 days. This is called metamorphosis (change of life).

Photographer: Martina Nicolls

Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM