Squash Bee vs Samoan Swallowtail

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute	Squash Bee	Samoan Swallowtail
Scientific Name	Peponapis pruinosa	Papilio godeffroyi
Order	Hymenoptera	Lepidoptera
Family	Apidae	Papilionidae
Size	12-14 mm	70-90 mm wingspan
Habitat	Farmland	Forests
Diet	Nectar Feeders	Nectar Feeders
Regions	North America, Central America	Oceania (Samoa)
Conservation	Not Evaluated	Endangered

Squash Bee

A solitary ground-nesting bee that specializes exclusively in pollinating squash, pumpkin, and gourd flowers. It begins foraging before dawn when cucurbit flowers first open.

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Did You Know?

Males often sleep inside closed squash blossoms at night, occasionally getting trapped when the flower wilts.

Samoan Swallowtail

A rare and beautiful swallowtail butterfly endemic to Samoa. It has dark wings with pale markings and is found in native forest. It is considered one of the rarest butterflies in the Pacific Islands.

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Did You Know?

This is one of the most isolated swallowtail butterflies in the world, found only on the small islands of Samoa far from any other Papilio population.