The Papilionidae butterfly family includes the mountain Apollo (Parnassius apollo).
Interesting Facts
- The “Apollo Butterfly” is named after the Roman and Greek Olympian solar deity Apollo in classical tradition.
- They are renowned for their clean, tidy appearance, which includes a body covered in white hair and two pairs of white wings.
Appearance
The Apollo’s white wings with somewhat translucent margins, five rectangular black eyespots on each forewing, and two brilliant red roundish eyespots on each hindwing serve as key indicators of its identity. The hiding eyespots of butterflies come in a variety of sizes, and following exposure to sunlight, they usually turn a dull orange color.
These impressively huge butterflies have a wide range in their wingspans. The wingspan of a male ranges from 62 to 86mm, while a female’s wingspan ranges from 65 to 95mm.
Diet
From May through September, adults of the Apollo butterfly can be seen flying and consuming flower nectar.
Predators
These bids are the butterfly’s predators. The Apollo butterfly, like the monarch, gives off an unpleasant taste to any potential predators. The Sedum stenopetalum, the butterfly’s host plant, seems to be the source of its unpleasant taste. Sarmentonsin, a cyanoglucoside with a bitter taste, is present in both the butterfly and the plant. Sarmentonsin is present in significantly greater amounts in the wings than the rest of the body. The greater concentration in the wings suggests that the butterfly’s wings would taste far worse in comparison. Water pipits, a common predator, have developed a tactic to escape the butterfly’s bad taste; the bird will cut off the wings before eating the body.
Habitat
This usually mountainous species favors the slopes, flower-filled alpine meadows, and pastures of continental European mountains.
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