The 13 Largest Butterflies in North America (Ranked)

If you’ve ever wondered which butterflies grow the largest in North America, that’s exactly what we’re going to look at in this article. These big butterflies stand out with their wide wings and strong flight, and I try to grab a photo every time one lands in my flowers. You’ll notice as we go that most of the biggest butterflies are swallowtails, with only a few exceptions. Let’s start with the smaller large species and work our way up to the very largest.

13 largest butterflies in North America

The following list highlights thirteen of the largest butterflies found in North America. Each entry includes the species name, wingspan, and a brief description so you can quickly learn how to identify these bigger butterflies.

#13 Viceroy butterfly

• Scientific name: Limenitis archippus
• Wingspan: Up to 3.5 inches

The viceroy is often mistaken for the monarch because of its orange and black pattern, but it can be identified by the thin black line that crosses its hindwings. Viceroys live throughout most of the United States and southern Canada, especially near ponds, streams, and wetlands where willows and poplars grow. These trees provide the leaves that their caterpillars feed on.

This butterfly is a fast flier and is often seen basking with its wings open. Although it is smaller than many of the other species on this list, its size still places it among the largest butterflies that are commonly encountered across North America.

#12 Red-spotted purple / White admiral

• Scientific name: Limenitis arthemis
• Wingspan: Up to 4 inches

The red-spotted purple, also called the white admiral in its northern form, is a large butterfly found across much of North America. The red-spotted purple form has dark blue-black wings with bright red-orange spots, while the white admiral form has a wide white band across its wings. Both forms are seen in wooded areas, along forest edges, and near streams.

Adults often feed on tree sap, rotting fruit, and moisture from the ground rather than flower nectar. This butterfly’s size and striking wing patterns make it a familiar species wherever suitable wooded habitat is present.

#11 Queen butterfly

• Scientific name: Danaus gilippus
• Wingspan: Up to 4 inches

The queen butterfly is closely related to the monarch and shares the same orange coloring, but it is usually a deeper reddish-brown and lacks the bold black veins of its larger cousin. It is found mainly in the southern United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean in warm, open areas where milkweed and other nectar plants are present.

This species is a strong flier and is frequently seen gliding low over fields and gardens. Its caterpillars also feed on milkweed, storing the plant’s toxins as a defense against predators. While less widespread than the monarch, the queen butterfly is one of the more notable large butterflies of the southern regions.

#10 Zebra swallowtail

• Scientific name: Eurytides marcellus
• Wingspan: Up to 4.5 inches

The zebra swallowtail is easy to identify by its long triangular wings marked with bold black and white stripes. This species lives in the eastern United States, especially in areas where pawpaw trees grow, since pawpaw leaves are the only food for its caterpillars.

Adults are most often seen in spring and summer, flying along woodland edges and near rivers. They feed on nectar from a wide range of flowering plants and are one of the more distinctive swallowtails because of their narrow tails and striped pattern.

#9 Pipevine swallowtail

• Scientific name: Battus philenor
• Wingspan: Up to 5 inches

The pipevine swallowtail is a large dark butterfly with iridescent blue hindwings that shine in the sunlight. It is common in the eastern and southern United States wherever pipevine plants grow, since its caterpillars feed exclusively on those vines.

Adults are strong fliers and are often seen visiting a variety of flowers, but they also play an important role in warning predators. The toxic chemicals from the pipevine plant make them distasteful, and many other butterfly species mimic their appearance for protection.

#8 Spicebush swallowtail

• Scientific name: Papilio troilus
• Wingspan: Up to 5 inches

The spicebush swallowtail is mostly black with pale blue or green scaling on the hindwings and a curved row of light spots along the edges. It is native to the eastern United States, where its caterpillars feed on spicebush and sassafras trees in forests and wooded edges.

Adults are frequent visitors to gardens and meadows with nectar-rich flowers. The species is also known for its caterpillars, which have large eyespots that make them look like tiny snakes as a form of defense against predators.

#7 Black swallowtail

• Scientific name: Papilio polyxenes
• Wingspan: Up to 5 inches

The black swallowtail is a widespread butterfly recognized by its mostly black wings with two rows of yellow spots across the hindwings. Females have more blue on the hindwings, while males show more yellow. It occurs throughout much of the eastern and central United States and southern Canada.

This species is often found in open fields, gardens, and roadsides. Its caterpillars feed on plants in the carrot family such as dill, parsley, and fennel, making it a frequent guest in home gardens as well as wild habitats.

#6 Palamedes swallowtail

 

• Scientific name: Papilio palamedes
• Wingspan: Up to 5.5 inches

The Palamedes swallowtail is a large dark butterfly with rows of yellow spots and a distinct orange spot near the tail. It is found mainly in the southeastern United States, especially in swamps, pine forests, and coastal areas where redbay and swamp bay trees grow, which are the main host plants for its caterpillars.

Adults are strong fliers and often stay close to wetland habitats. They frequently visit flowers for nectar but also take moisture and minerals from damp soil, a behavior called puddling.

#5 Western tiger swallowtail

• Scientific name: Papilio rutulus
• Wingspan: Up to 5.5 inches

The western tiger swallowtail is a large yellow butterfly with bold black stripes and narrow tails on the hindwings. It is widespread throughout the western United States and Canada, where it lives along rivers, in open woodlands, canyons, and suburban areas.

Adults are often seen gliding high through trees or feeding at flowers in sunny areas. The caterpillars feed on a variety of trees, including cottonwood, willow, and alder, making this one of the most adaptable swallowtails in the western regions.

#4 Eastern tiger swallowtail

• Scientific name: Papilio glaucus
• Wingspan: Up to 5.5 inches

The eastern tiger swallowtail is one of the most familiar large butterflies in the eastern half of North America. Its yellow wings with black tiger-like stripes make it easy to identify, and females sometimes appear in a darker form that is mostly black with faint striping.

This species thrives in woodlands, gardens, and parks. Caterpillars feed on tulip trees, wild cherry, and other native trees, while adults visit a wide range of flowers for nectar. Their large size and bright coloring make them one of the most frequently noticed butterflies in the East.

#3 Monarch butterfly

• Scientific name: Danaus plexippus
• Wingspan: Up to 6 inches

The monarch butterfly is one of the most recognized butterflies in the world. It has bright orange wings with black veins and a black border with white spots. Monarchs are found across most of North America, especially in open fields, gardens, and meadows where milkweed grows, as this plant is essential for their caterpillars.

This species is famous for its long-distance migration. Every fall, millions of monarchs travel from the northern United States and Canada to central Mexico, forming large clusters in wintering grounds. Their large size and migratory behavior make them one of the most remarkable butterflies on the continent.

#2 Two-tailed swallowtail

• Scientific name: Papilio multicaudata
• Wingspan: Up to 6.25 inches

The two-tailed swallowtail is the largest native swallowtail in the western United States. It is bright yellow with black stripes and has two distinct tails on each hindwing, a feature that sets it apart from other similar species. It is commonly found in canyons, foothills, and wooded areas in the western half of the continent.

Caterpillars feed on a variety of plants including chokecherry, ash, and willow. Adults are powerful fliers and are often seen gliding along streams and hilltops or visiting flowers for nectar.

#1 Giant swallowtail

• Scientific name: Papilio cresphontes
• Wingspan: Up to 6.5 inches

The giant swallowtail is the largest butterfly in the United States and in all of North America. It is dark brown to black with broad yellow bands crossing both wings, forming an X-shaped pattern when viewed from above. This species is distributed across the southern United States, Mexico, and parts of the Midwest and East, and has expanded its range northward in recent years.

Its caterpillars, often called “orange dogs,” feed on citrus trees as well as native plants like prickly ash and hop tree. Adults are strong, fast fliers and can be seen in gardens, orchards, and open woodlands, where their impressive size makes them stand out immediately.