It is now accepted that the subfamily Papilioninae is monophyletic.

Zerynthiini comprises four genera – Sericinus, Bhutanitis, Zerynthia and Allancastria. These two tribes have evolved to change their food plants, while the third tribe, Zerynthiini, has retained the archetypical papilionid food plant, the lowland vine Aristolochia. The tribe Luehdorfiini contains the genera Archon of Asia minor and the genus Luehdorfia of China and Japan. Most Parnassius have two small reddish spots on their hindwings. Tribe Parnassiini contains two genera, Hypermnestra, largely confined to central Asia and the genus Parnassius (the Apollos), a distinctive group of many species, all of which are alpine and capable of living at high altitudes. The tribes recognized in the Parnassiinae are Parnassiini, Zerynthiini, and Luehdorfiini. Parnassiinines can also be found in other habitats such as 'arid deserts ( Hypermnestra), humid forests ( Luehdorfia) and even lowland meadows ( Zerynthia)'. The vast majority of species, mostly Parnassius, can be found in mountain habitats. The Parnassiinae are a subfamily of essentially Holarctic butterflies. Baronia is unique among papilionidae' as having an Acacia species (family Leguminosae) as its food plant. Baronia brevicornis is considered to be a relict species, and shares features with a fossil taxon Pra Papilio.

The Baroniinae are a monotypic subfamily, restricted to a very small region in Mexico and are considered to be the most basal of the subfamilies. In swallowtails, besides morphological characteristics, the choice of food plants and ecological lifestyle reflect phylogeny and classification. The genera of extant swallowtails are usually classified into three subfamilies, Baroniinae, Parnassiinae, and Papilioninae, the latter two being further divided into tribes. The Mon of the Taira clan of Japan is an Agehachō (swallowtail butterfly). Further, the species Papilio homerus is named after the Greek poet, Homer. The type species: Papilio machaon honored Machaon, one of the sons of Asclepius, mentioned in the Iliad. For the specific epithets of the genus, Linnaeus applied the names of Greek figures to the swallowtails. As for its formal name, Linnaeus chose Papilio for the type genus, as papilio is Latin for 'butterfly'. The forked appearance in some of the swallowtails' hindwings, which can be seen when the butterfly is resting with its wings spread, gave rise to the common name swallowtail. The osmeterium normally remains hidden, but when threatened, the larva turns it outward through a transverse dorsal groove by inflating it with fluid. Swallowtails have a number of distinctive features for example, the papilionid caterpillar bears a repugnatorial organ called the osmeterium on its prothorax. The family includes the largest butterflies in the world, the birdwing butterflies of the genus Ornithoptera.

Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica.

Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. There are 31 genera and about 600 species:

Zebra swallowtail caterpillars