It is endemic to Jamaica where the butterfly simultaneously serves as an icon of national pride and a need for conservation efforts.

In the face of rapid habitat destruction from human disruption and illegal collecting, the Jamaican swallowtail is listed on the Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (Red List) and is protected under international and national level legislation.

[6] Given the low population and the intense terrain in its forested habitats, few studies of the Jamaican swallowtails have aided to construct a basic biological and ecological understanding of the species.

[7] Morphological analysis reveals that P. garamas (endemic to Central America) and P. homerus share a recent common ancestor, suggesting that butterflies may have traveled across no-longer existing land masses between Central America and Jamaica.

These groups include the Heraclides-clade, machaon-clade, Petrosus-clade, and a species that exists within its own clade (P. alexanor).

It previously occupied half of the 14 parishes of Jamaica but can only be found as two or three small populations today.

With deforestation and the expansion of developments bordering much of the remaining forest land, the climate of the region is more arid.

Located in the mountainous and cave-filled Cockpit Country, this population is in less danger of human interference due to difficulty of the terrain.

The geography, coupled with the privatization of land by marijuana farmers has made the population more difficult to access and thus study.

[4] The eggs are deposited onto the leaves of a host plant where they turn from light green to yellow and eventually to dark brown before hatching.

[9] The first and second instar of the larvae resemble bird droppings, with a dark brown body and a white lower abdominal region.

This defensive organ, found in all papilionid larvae, resembles the forked tongue of a snake and may serve to scare off potential predators.

[11] Adults are known to feed on various nectar sources such as L. camara, H. rosasinensis, including endemic Jamaican species such as Hernandia catalpaefolia and H.

However, oviposition has been observed on Ocotea species plants that are found in all three geographies known to have recently been occupied by the populations of Jamaican swallowtail.

[4] Adult Jamaican swallowtails can soar at high elevations (up to 550m) rapidly gliding along wind current.

Lehnert reports that there is a daily vertical migration in which adults descend from the mountain tops to just above the river beds.

Disputing Lepedoptera have displayed three distinct behaviors; the P. homerus engages more commonly in a horizontal spiraling pursuit.

However, other forms of egg mortality exist, including predation by ants and fungal infections.

[4] Due to the size and beauty of the butterfly, poaching has also threatened the remaining populations of the Jamaican swallowtail.

[6] A regressive analysis of historical data of the observation of P. homerus indicates that there is no decline in the number of adults found in the wild.

However, population size is still facing the great threat of habitat loss, destruction, and climate change.

Further, it is legally protected under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Jamaican Wildlife Act of 1998.

Lehnert advocates for further study of the habitat and ecological threats in order to understand how to provide adequate space and protection for the species.

Finally, Lehnert advocates for the establishment of a refugium population of the butterfly that could be reared in a controlled environment and reintroduced into the field.

This, paired with continued efforts to boost local awareness of the species and its status, may help in creating more stable and present population of P. homerus in its native land.

[4] Habitat loss is a major concern due to rapid changes that have occurred in the Jamaican landscape.

While the deforestation rate is at 0.1%, presents as an imminent threat as the Jamaican government has planted monocrops of fast growing pines while uprooting native, pre-existing rainforests to meet the fuel demands of the region.

Human development leads to a change in the local atmosphere, including a decrease in humidity.

[4] Deforestation paired with construction and development bordering the rainforest has contributed to the eradication of the population.

The Western population is protected by marijuana farmers illegally disallowing local traffic and the difficulty of the terrain in which it is located.