He was sitting on my hand just gave me enough time to take pics before flying away.

Beautiful. I had never seen one before. I don't think they exist in other states, right? Thanks for posting this.

That is one beautiful butterfly!!!
I think I'll be packing now...

Just gorgeous! It has the 'blood shot eyes' at the inside of the hindwings like black swallowtails, and resembles them in general. I think you said citrus was the host plant? Then that helps explain how it is our black swallowtails, who mainly use members of the carrot family, will also use rue, a member of the citrus family.

Thanks for posting!

Sherry

Beautiful pic! I agree, it does remind me of our black swallowtail.
Can you tell the sex?
Liz

Beautiful!

Thanks guys! So excited to share our only swallowtail in the state of Hawaii:-) its called Papilio xuthus, host tree is anything citrus; lime, pomelo, orange, tangerine..2 things I learned from this beauty, 1. Lifecycle : from egg to an adult butterfly, it takes 6 weeks, 2. They have a very fragile, fragile wings!! Not sure if all swallowtails are like that? They look like bird poop when they were baby cats. The eggs looks like any swallowtails in the mainland U.S., roundish, yellow. TThese guys originated in Asia. I am now excited to raise more since I have abundant P. Xuthus ELF on my lime tree, but kinda ignored it since I like monarch butterfly more., and monarch is easier and takes less time to raise. P. Xuthus is the main reason why I got interested in butterfly rearing along with gulf frits. ( since host plants were already present in my yard, not like for the monarchs, " Calotropis gigantea the equivalent of your "Milkweeds", that I have to buy or scavenged from a neighbor:-), oh, hard work!! ), but really I enjoyed it a lot. I have a full stressful job, a 3 year old son, this butterfly calms me down for a reason. Seeing them flutter away up above each time I let them go makes me so proud and joyful ! Looking forward for more and I am still learning new things everyday:-D

Thanks so much for sharing this photo and story with us!

Hawaiiponder,
Can you plant Monarch host plants in your yard to make the work easier next time you raise Monarchs? I would think the Tropical Milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, would do well in your climate, and it has the reputation of attracting females to lay eggs because it has very tender leaves. I grew some from seed for the first time this summer, and I was surprised how much growth occurred in just one season. It would be nice if you could just step out your door and have food readily available. And seeds are widely available.

Martha

Martha

Hi martha! Yes, I actually bought and planted a lot of crownflower plants, but the leaves are just spouting and some are not big enough for them to chomp on:-). And yes I planted asclepias currasivica and tuberosa, they seem doing pretty good, but the female monarchs for some reason just kept laying eggs on my existing older host plants! The good thing about it is I got places to get it if I ever ran out.am so excited, and cant wait for the eggs to hatch:-)