Graphium macleayanus
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Graphium macleayanus, the Macleay's swallowtail, is a butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae. The species was named after Alexander Macleay. Macleay's swallowtail was first described by William Elford Leach in 1814. The name is synonymous with Papilio macleayanus.
The caterpillar grows to a length of 4 cm. The pupa is green with thin yellow lines. The adult female Macleay's swallowtail has a wingspan of 59 mm, whilst the adult male has a wingspan of 53 mm. The upperside of the wing is green with white markings and black edges. The lower surface is a deeper green with black, brown and white markings. The lower wings are strongly tailed.
The Macleay's swallowtail is one of the most widely distributed swallowtail butterflies in Australia. It is found in eastern Australia including the ACT, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania. It is the only swallowtail found in Tasmania. The species has also been found on Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island, but... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Macleay's Swallowtail sighting in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 94 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 18th most-seen of the 789 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October and November
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Macleay's Swallowtail in Blue Mountains National Park on a given day, against about 10% in April to August, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Macleay's Swallowtail sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Macleay's Swallowtail sightings, Blue Mountains National Park ranks 4th at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park (Australia, about 20%), Lamington National Park (Australia, about 20%) and Kosciuszko National Park (Australia, about 20%).
Same family: Papilionidae
The closest relatives of the Macleay's Swallowtail that you can see in Blue Mountains National Park (family Papilionidae, Swallowtails and Parnassians) are Orchard Swallowtail (about 20%), Dainty Swallowtail (about 10%) and Lime Swallowtail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Macleay's Swallowtail is recorded against all the insects logged in Blue Mountains National Park (94 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
