The first drawing of a North American swallowtail was of a male tiger swallowtail and was drawn in 1587 by John White who was commander of Sir Walter Raleigh's third expedition to North American. The tiger swallowtail is a large species with a wingspread range of 7.9 to 14.0 cm. Adults are yellow with four black bands on the front wings. The innermost band connects with the median band of the hind wing. The wing margins are black with a row of yellow spots.
Some females are black with a marginal row of yellow spots.
In many areas of the North, most females are black. 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.