Swallowtail butterfly black swallowtail is the state butterfly of Oklahoma. Swallowtail butterfly Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the largest butterflies in the world, the birdwing butterflies of the genus "Ornithoptera". Swallowtails have a number of distinctive features; for example, the papilionid caterpillar bears a repugnatorial organ called the osmeterium on its prothorax. The osmeterium normally remains hidden, but when threatened, the larva turns it outward through a transverse dorsal groove by inflating it with fluid.
Swallowtail (flag) Swallowtail (flag) In flag terminology, a swallowtail is either The name comes from the forked tail that is a common feature of the swallow species of birds. Common in Scandinavia, this swallowtail flag contains a vertical section in the centre of the fly. Also common in the Nordic countries, the swallowtail flag contains a third tail (the "tongue") between the other two tails. This is the shape of the United States' state flag of Ohio, as well as some burgees, private signals and pennants of the International Code of Signals (ICS) use a triangular swallowtail shape. A guidon is the