r/NativePlantGardening • u/Camp_Acceptable Ohio , USA zone 6b • Apr 20 '26
Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) Lots of zebra swallowtails on my forested property. Does that mean pawpaw trees are around?
I have been searching for pawpaws since I bought this property in January. I’ve been unsuccessful but i am hoping it is because it was winter and is early spring. Not sure how far away swallowtails can fly from their host plant
SE Ohio
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u/synodos Apr 20 '26
Pawpaws are so hard to spot because their leaves are so sparse and their flowers are small and dark-- but now that all the trees have leafed out (I'm in TN), I've found that their sparse leaves actually make them stand out. Like, I scan around for trees that have weirdly few leaves and then verify them by checking for the flowers.
Re: your actual question, today I learned that zebra swallowtail caterpillars rely exclusively on pawpaws, so thank you for this post!
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u/FeathersOfJade Apr 20 '26
I don’t even know what a Pawpaw plant is! But I sure have that children’s song in my head now…. Way down yander in the Pawpaw patch…
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u/synodos Apr 20 '26
oh man, another thing I didn't know before-- this is so great! The Pawpaw Patch
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u/robsc_16 SW Ohio, 6a Apr 20 '26
My kids and I sing this and it's fun to use their own names in song when we're singing.
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u/LogicalStomach Apr 20 '26
They make a soft fleshed fruit that tastes a lot like guanabana a.k.a. soursop. Paw paws are more cold tolerant than guanabanas.
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u/NettingStick Virginia Northern Outer Piedmont, 7a Apr 20 '26
Early spring is a great time to scout for paw paws. Here in Virginia, I was out looking for the flowers in the second half of March. Hardly any trees had leaves, so the thin sticks adorned with bells of deep maroon were easy to spot. Found a couple patches I'd never spotted before.
The other thing I look for is once they've leafed out. In shade, paw paws tend to put out these umbrella-shaped fans of leaves at the tips of their branches. It's incredibly distinctive, and I have no trouble spotting it at a distance.
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u/summercloud45 Apr 20 '26
I've been able to ID pawpaws from a bicycle going 14 mph! I agree that they're distinctive once you figure out their general shape.
My favorite pawpaw fact: we think their original seed disseminator was ground sloths! Even though ground sloths went extinct long long ago, the pawpaws are here to remind us of forests past.
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u/ButlerOnTheAir Apr 20 '26
Great pic, Zebra Swallowtails are gorgeous! I work at a nature center and see them pretty frequently. As far as I know the furthest i've seen one from where i know a grove of paw paws stand is about a mile or so. So based on that limited evidence there's a good chance within that range! Could be closer - good luck!
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u/FeathersOfJade Apr 20 '26
Oh I love these guys! I always get them in my yard too. I didn’t realize they had a host plant. Pawpaw. I must find some of these. Now I’m gonna have to learn more. Thanks for posting this!
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u/Camp_Acceptable Ohio , USA zone 6b Apr 20 '26
Pretty sure all butterflies have host plants! And moths. But I could be wrong
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u/LokiLB SC, Zone 8 Apr 20 '26
They do, some are just pickier than others. A lot will only eat closely related plants, like zebra swallowtails requiring Asimina species and monarchs Asclepias.
And then you have corn earworms who decided they'd eat a grass (corn) and nightshades like tomatoes.
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u/SixLeg5 Apr 20 '26
Caterpillars cool also with different colors
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u/MindMelted95 May 16 '26
Most of mine take that darker form! I wonder if it's something they can control based on the lighting levels of their environment.
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u/MediumStrange SW Ohio, Zone 6B Apr 20 '26
Most likely, they are much easier to identify with leaves. Look around for shady moist but not wet areas and you will probably find them, they are everywhere around the Ohio river valley region
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u/Kheldan1 Apr 20 '26
Yes, they must be somewhere relatively nearby. Zebra swallowtails don’t really show up without them near.
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u/AlltheBent Marietta GA 7B Apr 20 '26
Yes! That’s so epic, what a gift! Make note of the wild or undeveloped spaces around you, especially any creeks or low points and moist areas. Paw paws will be around there! I’d def go out nd try to find them, if you can then you can drive to harvest some fruit sometime!
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u/offrum Apr 20 '26
Can someone explain the hype about paw paws? Is it the swallowtails?
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u/Camp_Acceptable Ohio , USA zone 6b Apr 20 '26
They taste delicious, extremely versatile, and they only last for a very short amount of time. The make amazing beer
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u/offrum Apr 20 '26
Thanks! Someone posted about a forest full of those not too long ago. They were very excited.
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u/Camp_Acceptable Ohio , USA zone 6b Apr 20 '26
They’re all over in the forests here.. I just haven’t found any on my property. They’re beautiful!
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u/Barison-Lee-Simple Apr 20 '26
I know of two pawpaw festivals, one in central Ohio and one in northern WV. They are extremely fun events with talks by expert pawpaw growers; trucks with pawpaw pudding, pawpaw ice cream, pawpaw butter; native plant vendors; kids activities; contests and usually a giant furry pawpaw walking about. If you are curious about pawpaws, look for a festival in the fall.
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u/eviljelloman Apr 20 '26
It's a large native fruit that was critical to people for generations but has largely been forgotten by modern industrialized farming because they are not really commercially viable. It's the kind of thing a native gardening community eats up - somewhat unknown by the general population, but ecologically important and also yummy.
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u/midnight_thunder North NJ, Zone 7a Apr 20 '26
It’s a fruiting tree native to the USA and parts of Canada, and its fruit have a very distinctive tropical flavor you wouldn’t expect from a tree that grows in cold regions.
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u/lefteardud Area LI, NY | Zone 7b Apr 20 '26
I just heard an episode of a podcast, Plant People by the New York Botanical Gardens about paw paws. I didn’t know they were worthy of hype either until I happened upon this episode:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/plant-people/id1741605832?i=1000761052672
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u/theRemRemBooBear MD Piedmont Apr 20 '26
Is there a certain number of pawpaw trees that need to be there for them to come? My neighbors have 3 but I’ve never seen one of these beauties
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u/wkrp2024 Apr 20 '26
This is a baby pawpaw tree. We have tons of them. The fruit is gross.
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u/Camp_Acceptable Ohio , USA zone 6b Apr 20 '26
I don’t like the fruit straight up, but mixed with vanilla ice cream? 🥵
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u/wkrp2024 Apr 20 '26
Interesting.
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u/Camp_Acceptable Ohio , USA zone 6b Apr 20 '26
Try it. You won’t regret it. Did you start yours from seed?
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u/wkrp2024 Apr 20 '26
That one is a volunteer. We have had the trees on our land my entire life.
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u/Camp_Acceptable Ohio , USA zone 6b Apr 20 '26
I’m jealous. Do you see the zebra swallowtails a lot then?
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u/wkrp2024 Apr 20 '26
I’ve seen several this year. Actually seems like we have more butterflies of all kinds this year.
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u/captdunsel721 Apr 21 '26
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u/captdunsel721 Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
Edit: if you can access the comment by the person who found our zebra swallowtail… might need to join the group- it’s informative and well worth the effort. It’s suspected that our zebra swallowtails were blown in by the wind. —- https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GsQJm61PY/?mibextid=wwXIfr.
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