I think I found it. I believe it might be a Zebra Swallowtail!

It looks like a Zebra Swallowtail from what I can see. Your lucky you saw one!

Congrats, congrats, Mary!! Zebra swallowtails are super rare around here. You must have pawpaws growing near you.

Sherry

Congratulations, Mary. This is a butterfly that has frustrated me for years. They are in a park about five miles away, but I have only seen one on my property in something like twenty years. The only seem to like local paw paws and they grow so slowly that it's almost impossible to get enough of them to attract these butterflies. I have planted many paw paws, but only a few have grown and none have been able to attract them.

I'm at the northern border of their range and they are described as "very rare" in the northern extent of their range. Congratulations!

Martha

Beautiful butterfly and photo!

Nice! I am in NJ but I don't thin that one comes this far north (?). I have a group of pawpaws on my small property......there are plenty of them. When I first tried to establish pawpaws many years ago at my parents place it was a long wait. First ones came bare root and died. Later I got potted ones (all mail order) and they finally made it....waited several years for fruit. When I first bought our house about 15 years ago I bought two small potted grafted pawpaws. Later I added one more nongrafted from a native plant nursery. So.........once they get going....they are WEEDS!!! Well the fruit is wonderful.......but they drop a lot of fruit too...........and seedlings plus roots sprouts germinate EVERYWHERE!! You end up with pawpaw sprouts coming up through everything.....and they are impossible to pull! Cut them and they grow back. Funny. In any case, I would love to see zebra swallowtails here and would have a few leaves to spare!

There are many different types of Pawpaws. I believe that the Zebra Swallowtails mostly use the ones that are native to the area. Some years ago I purchased Triloba Pawpaws. They grew well here and I have several trees, but I have never seen one visited by a ZL.

Here is a list of different Pawpaws: Asimina angustifolia-- Slimleaf pawpaw, Asimina incana-- Woolly pawpaw, Asimina obovata-- Bigflower pawpaw, Asimina parviflora-- Smallflower pawpaw, Asimina pygmea --Dwarf pawpaw; Asimina reticulata---Netted pawpaw, Asimina tetramera---Fourpetal pawpaw; Asimina triloba-- Pawpaw, Common Pawpaw, Prairie Banan

The chart above was copied from this site.

The ones that are native here in Central Florida are, I believe, the obovata, the pygmea, and the reticulata. None of them grow quickly. Pawpaws can only be grown from seeds. I have never heard of anyone being able to grow them by taking cuttings. I think one would need a bunch of these small bushes to be able to attract and hold Zebra Longwings.