Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Interesting fact: Scientists have identified a first hybridization of two swallowtails, called the Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail, which is a rare mix between the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail shown here and the Canadian swallowtail butterfly. This finding is considered very rare, since the reproduction mechanism for the new species is unknown. The Appalachian species does not reproduce with its parental species and is a unique mixture of the two in both its outward traits and inward genetic makeup, leaving open how the new Appalachian species achieves hybridization.