What Eats a Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly?

One of the most distinct varieties of insect, the tiger swallowtail butterfly is found throughout much of the United States. It is most easily distinguished by its large yellow-and-black-striped wings. Like almost any creature in the animal kingdom, the tiger swallowtail has many predators to contend with, including birds, mammals, reptiles and even other insects.

  1. Small Birds

    • Sharing the skies with the tiger swallowtail butterfly, birds make up the largest predator group for this insect. One of the smaller birds that hunt this butterfly is the great crested flycatcher. This bird grows to about nine inches in length and also eats crickets, bees and even lizards. An even smaller bird known for its fondness for tiger swallowtail butterflies is the white-breasted nuthatch. Growing to only about six inches in length, this bird is nonmigratory and can catch prey from the ground or while in the air. Other small birds that hunt this butterfly include the downy woodpecker and the red-winged blackbird.

    Larger Birds

    • Although the tiger swallowtail isn't perhaps as filling for larger birds, there are some bigger avians that will also hunt the butterfly. One is the sharp-shinned hawk. Growing to about 14 inches in length, this is one of the smallest hawks found in North America. It typically prefers larger creatures for meals, including small birds, reptiles, bats and mice, though opportunities to snack on large insects like the tiger swallowtail are rarely passed up by this hawk. The barred owl also hunts tiger swallowtails. A relatively common owl that usually grows to 20 inches, it hunts some of the tiger swallowtail's other predators in addition to the insect itself.

    Mammals

    • Although mammals are stuck on land, they can still pose a danger to the eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly, particularly in the insect's larvae or caterpillar stages. Often, small mammals will feast on tiger swallowtails before they fully mature. Particularly fast mammals can even catch this insect in its butterfly stage while it rests on a flower or other surface. Opossums, squirrels and raccoons have all been known to hunt the tiger swallowtail butterfly.

    Insects

    • Even other insects sometimes go after the tiger swallowtail. The bald-faced hornet is one particularly nasty predator. Though they grow to only three-quarters of an inch in length, these fearless hornets often work together to take down prey. If a tiger swallowtail butterfly is killed for food by these hornets, the butterfly will most likely be chewed up into pieces and brought back to the nest to feed hornet larvae, making this end perhaps the most gruesome for the swallowtail butterfly. The Chinese mantid, also known as the preying mantis, is a much larger insect known to eat the tiger swallowtail. It can grow to five inches in length and usually uses its long, deadly front legs to snatch the butterfly and other prey. Other insects that eat the tiger swallowtail include the fiery searcher beetle and the green darner dragonfly.