Papilio brevicauda, the short-tailed swallowtail, is a North American butterfly in the family Papilionidae.

The yellow bands of spots on the upperside of the wings are often more orange (except in the western part of its range).

[1] This butterfly primarily breeds on Scotch lovage (Ligusticum scoticum) and is often found very near the ocean where its larval stage food sources grow.

Females lay their eggs singly on host plant leaves.

The pale green to creamish-green larva has black bands between segments with yellow spots on the black bands (these spots are orange in Cape Breton Island).