The Swallowtail and Birdwing Butterfly Trust (SBBT) challenges the conclusions of a recent review by Ingate (1) calling for radical new strategies in managing the British Swallowtail butterfly, Papilio machaon britannicus. The Trust first addressed this issue at a 2018 workshop, which identified sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion in the UK’s Norfolk Broads as the […]
On thin ice: Cryopreservation attempts to conserve the British Swallowtail
Britain is home to only one native species of Swallowtail – the iconic subspecies the British Swallowtail Papilio machaon britannicus. It is Britain’s largest butterfly and a symbol for its home region, the Norfolk Broads. Unfortunately, this has not protected the species from population decline and habitat restriction. Due to changes in habitat management and significant drying of vast areas of land to […]
Jamaican Swallowtails under threat
Two species of Swallowtail endemic to Jamaica: The Jamaican Giant Swallowtail or Homerus Swallowtail (Pterourus homerus) and the Blue Kite Swallowtail (Protographium marcellinus) are both in need of additional protection. Two recent papers published in May 2025 in Tropical Lepidoptera Research by Thomas Turner and Vaughan Turland have highlighted the continued threats to these two […]
Featured species : Kaiser-I-Hind
The Kaiser-I-Hind (Teinopalpus imperialis) is a rare species of swallowtail butterfly. The butterfly is a superb green, black and orange, tailed butterfly from the mountainous forests of the Nepal to West and South China, Myanmar, North Thailand, Laos, North and Central Vietnam and China.
Featured species : African Giant Swallowtail (Papilio antimachus)
The African Giant Swallowtail (Papilio antimachus), with a wingspan between 18 and 23 centimeters, is the largest butterfly in Africa and among the largest butterflies in the world. It is an exceedingly beautiful butterfly with a relatively wide range in Africa’s west and central primary rain forests.
