Faint remnants of the typical tiger banding pattern is visible on the undersides of the front wings of the black form. The hind wings of the black form are powdery blue above with a wavy black band dividing the powdery blue areas. This band is absent in female spicebush swallowtails, Papilio troilus L., which may otherwise superficially resemble black tiger swallowtails. Also, the marginal spots of P. troilus are typically blue green. However, recent evidence has called this into question.
Young larvae are dark and resemble bird droppings.
Older larvae are green with a swollen thorax and a transverse band of faint blue dots on each abdominal segment. There is a black transverse stripe edged with yellow anteriorly between the first and second abdominal segments. Larvae also have a single pair of false eyespots on the metathorax. The eyespots are yellow ringed with black and contain a smaller blue spot lined with black and a black line dorsad of the blue spot. The pupa is tan with a dark brown or black lateral stripe and a brown dorsal band.