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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 ~40%
21 Verified sightings at Sierra de Guadarrama National Park From 2019 to 2026
901 In all 21 parks
July 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 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park
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 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park
Before you go
What are the chances of seeing an Old World Swallowtail in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park?
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Old World Swallowtail sighting in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, based on 21 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 177th most-seen of the 597 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
When is the best time to see an Old World Swallowtail in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park?
March and June–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Old World Swallowtail in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–May and December–February, the lowest months.
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 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park the best place to see an Old World Swallowtail?
21st of 21
Of the 21 parks where we can rate Old World Swallowtail sightings, Sierra de Guadarrama National Park ranks 21st at about 10%. The best odds are in Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park (Mongolia, about 50%), Triglav National Park (Slovenia, about 40%) and Mercantour National Park (France, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Which relatives of the Old World Swallowtail live in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park?
Same family: Papilionidae
The closest relatives of the Old World Swallowtail that you can see in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (family Papilionidae, Swallowtails and Parnassians) are Spanish Festoon (about 20%), Iberian Scarce Swallowtail (about 20%) and Apollo (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 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (21 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.
