Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
        Phylum: Arthropoda
                Class: Insecta
                        Order: Lepidoptera
                                Suborder: Rhopalocera
                                       Family: Papilionidae
                                              Genus: Papilio
                                                     Species: canadensis


The order name of the tiger swallowtail comes from a combination of two Greek words, Lepis which means scaly and ptera which means wing. Swallowtails, like all the insects in this family, have these scaly wings, along with siphoning mouthparts that are shaped like coiled tubes (Schlaepfer, 2006). To learn more about the proboscis, go to the nutrition page.

The suborder name Rhopalocera also comes from the Greek language and means clubbed antennae (Schlaepfer, 2006).

The butterflies in family Papilionidae are commonly known as swallowtails. This name comes from the tail-like projections on the butterfly's hindwings, which closely resembles the tail of a swallow (Schlapfer, 2006).