It is one of the most familiar butterflies in the eastern United States,[3] ranging north to southern Ontario, Canada,[4] and is common in many different habitats.

Adults feed on the nectar of many species of flowers, mostly from those of the families Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, and Fabaceae.

Young caterpillars are brown and white; older ones are green with two black, yellow, and blue eyespots on the thorax.

This broken bar is present in both sexes, and is used to distinguish P. glaucus from its close relatives.

The yellow morph differs from the male in having a blue postmedian area on the dorsal hindwing.

It was drawn by John White in 1587,[3] during Sir Walter Raleigh's third expedition to Virginia.

[13] White named his drawing "Mamankanois" which is believed to be a Carolina Algonquian word for "butterfly".

[16] In 2002, another closely related species, P. appalachiensis, was described by H. Pavulaan and D. M. Wright from the southern Appalachian Mountains.

[15] These two species can be separated from P. glaucus by size; P. canadensis is smaller and P. appalachiensis is larger.

B. philenor differs from the dark morph P. glaucus by the row of light-colored spots on each wing margin.

Common habitats include woodlands, fields, rivers, creeks, roadsides, and gardens.

[8][19][20] Because it has adapted to many different habitats and host plants, P. glaucus is a generalist, and is not considered threatened.

[22] However, as compared to Papilio canadensis, at the northern overlap between the two species, P. glaucus survive very poorly through their first larval instar when settling on a quaking aspen (Populus tremeloides) tree and their survival rate under those conditions are approximately 15%, whereas P. canadensis thrives on this food plant.

[21] Adults are seen from spring to fall, although the exact date varies depending on the location.

[3][24] Adults use a wide range of food sources, most preferring to nectar on sturdy plants with red or pink flowers.

[3][9] Many members of the families Apocynaceae, Asteraceae and Fabaceae are used as common nectar sources.

They extract sodium ions and amino acids from these sources which aid in reproduction.

[3] Common host plants used are those of the families Magnoliaceae and Rosaceae, with species including tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), sweet bay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) and wild black cherry (Prunus serotina).

Populus), birches (Betula), and willows (Salix) have been recorded in older literature as host plants, but these are used by P.

[1] Host plants of P. glaucus include: The first three instars of the caterpillar are bird dropping mimics, coloration that helps protect it from predators.

[30] Like all members of the family Papilionidae, the caterpillar of P. glaucus possesses an osmeterium, an orange, fleshy organ that emits foul-smelling terpenes to repel predators.

Normally hidden, the osmeterium is located on the first segment of the thorax, and can be everted when the caterpillar feels threatened.

[33] Since adults are palatable, dark morph females use Batesian mimicry to protect themselves from vertebrate predators by mimicking the poisonous pipevine swallowtail.