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Old World Swallowtail
Papilio machaon
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumArthropoda (Arthropods)
- ClassInsecta (Insects)
- OrderLepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- FamilyPapilionidae (Swallowtails and Parnassians)
- GenusPapilio (Common Swallowtails)
- SpeciesPapilio machaon (Old World Swallowtail)
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
20 Verified sightings at Seoul
901 In all 21 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted
About the Old World Swallowtail
Papilio machaon, the Old World swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. The butterfly is also known as the common yellow swallowtail or simply the swallowtail (a common name applied to all members of the family, but this species was the first to be given the name). It is the type species of the genus Papilio. This widespread species is found in much of the Palearctic and in North America.
This species is named after Machaon (Ancient Greek: Μαχάων, romanized: Makháōn) a figure in Greek mythology. He was a son of Asclepius in the works of Homer. Papilio machaon was named by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae in 1758, alongside nearly 200 other species of butterfly. Later, Pierre André Latreille designated it as the type species of the genus Papilio.
There are 41 recognized subspecies, that include: Papilio machaon gorganus is strongly migratory in Europe and may be found in almost all habitats. Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Old World Swallowtail in Seoul
LIVEiNaturalistGlobal Distribution
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | |
| 2 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 3 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Wrangell-St. Elias National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 10 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 11 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 12 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 13 | Nikko National Park | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 14 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 15 | Kluane National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 16 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 17 | Denali National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 19 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 20 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 21 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Closest Relatives at Seoul
Before you go
What are the chances of seeing an Old World Swallowtail in Seoul?
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Old World Swallowtail sighting in Seoul on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 177th most-seen of the 525 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
When is the best time to see an Old World Swallowtail in Seoul?
April, June and August–September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Old World Swallowtail in Seoul on a given day, against under 5% in May, July and October–March, the lowest months. Those are among Seoul's wettest months, with about 150 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in January.
What time of day is best to see an Old World Swallowtail?
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Old World 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.
Is Seoul the best place to see an Old World Swallowtail?
31st of 42
Of the 42 cities where we can rate Old World Swallowtail sightings, Seoul ranks 31st at about 10%. The best odds are in Ramallah (Palestine, about 30%), Turin (Italy, about 30%) and Barcelona (Spain, about 20%).
Which relatives of the Old World Swallowtail live in Seoul?
Same genus: Papilio
The closest relatives of the Old World Swallowtail that you can see in Seoul (genus Papilio, Common Swallowtails) are Chinese Yellow Swallowtail (about 10%), Japanese Peacock Swallowtail (about 10%) and Long-Tail Spangle Swallowtail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
Where does the Old World Swallowtail sighting chance come from?
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Old World Swallowtail is recorded against all the insects logged in Seoul (20 verified sightings), 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.
