Species account

Sydeuropæisk Svalehale (Iphiclides podalirius)    Linnaeus (1758)
   Svalehaler (Papilionidae)    SCSW    25449
Scarce Swallowtail (gb)   Podalirio (es)   Segelfjäril (se)      Synonyms: Podaliriusfjäril (se)
Subspecies
podalirius
Central and Southern Europe.
persica
Verity (1911).
feisthamelii
Duponchel (1832) - North Africa, Spain, SW France, Italy.
virgatus
Butler (1865)
Measurements:
WS:60-85mm
Generations:
1-3
Flight period:
JFMAMJJASOND 
SE
EU
Identification:
In Nordic region only confused with Svalehale (Papilio machaon) [Swallowtail ~ Macaón ~ Makaonfjäril] but is paler and has a black-and-yellow streaked 'vertical' pattern on the forewing and longer tails and the red spots along the inner margin not being limited by black on the proximal side.
Similar species:
Life stages:
Distribution:
C and S Europe, N Africa, eastwards across Asia Minor and Transcaucasia as far as the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, India and western China.
Habitat:
Farmland/cultivated land with large variation, orchards/fruit-trees, river valleys, but also gardens and parks with suited plants.
Behavior:
Uni, bi or trivoltine depending on locality and altitude.
Status:
Accidental visitor to Denmark, Sweden and Finland. Observations through the years have traditionally been treated as imported animals (fruit-trees), but due to climate changes some of the later observations, this millennium, are expected to be of spontaneous origin.
Host plants:
Slåen (Prunus spinosa) [Blackthorn ~ Endrino ~ Slån]
Fugle-Kirsebær (Prunus avium) [Sweet Cherry ~ Cerezo Silvestre ~ Sötkörsbär]
Blomme (Prunus domestica) [European Plum ~ Ciruelo Europeo ~ Plommon]
Aprikos (Prunus armeniaca) [Apricot ~ Albaricoque ~ Aprikos]
Weichsel (Prunus mahaleb) [Mahaleb Cherry ~ Cerezo de Santa Lucía ~ Vejksel]
Fersken (Prunus persica) [Peach ~ Durazno ~ Persika]
Almindelig Hæg (Prunus padus) [Hackberry ~ Cerezo de Racimos ~ Hägg]
Pære (Pyrus communis) [Common Pear ~ Peral Europeo ~ Päron]
Skov-Æble (Malus sylvestris) [European Crab Apple ~ Manzano Silvestre ~ Vildapel]
Sød Æble (Malus domestica) [Apple ~ Manzano Europeo ~ Äppelträd]
Engriflet Hvidtjørn (Crataegus monogyna) [One-seed Hawthorne ~ Majuelo ~ Trubbhagtorn]
Almindelig Røn (Sorbus aucuparia) [Rowan ~ Serbal de los Cazadores ~ Rönn]
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