Parnassius acdestis is a high-altitude butterfly found in India. It is a member of the genus Parnassius of the swallowtail family, Papilionidae. The species was first described by Grigory Grum-Grshimailo in 1891.
Description
Note: The wing pattern in Parnassius species is inconsistent and the very many subspecies and forms make identification problematic and uncertain. Structural characters derived from the genitalia, wing venation, sphragis and foretibial epiphysis are more, but not entirely reliable. The description given here is a guide only. For an identification key see P.R. Ackery (1975).
Hindwing with very narrow marginal band, the submarginal spots isolated, small; the ultracellular costal spot of forewing continued by grey scaling, forming an s-shaped band.
Subspecies
- Parnassius acdestis cerevisiae <small>Weiss & Michel</small>
- Parnassius acdestis cinerosus <small>Stichel</small>
- Parnassius acdestis felix <small>Eisner</small>
- Parnassius acdestis hades <small>(Bryk)</small>
- Parnassius acdestis imperatoides <small>Weiss & Michel</small>
- Parnassius acdestis irenaephis <small>Bryk</small>
- Parnassius acdestis ladakensis <small>Avinoff, 1916</small>
- Parnassius acdestis lathonius <small>Bryk</small>
- Parnassius acdestis limitis <small>Weiss & Michel</small>
- Parnassius acdestis macdonardi <small>Rothschild</small>
- Parnassius acdestis manco <small>Koiwaya</small>
- Parnassius acdestis ohkuma <small>Koiwaya</small>
- Parnassius acdestis peeblesi <small>Bryk</small>
- Parnassius acdestis peshkei <small>Eisner, 1933</small>
- Parnassius acdestis rupshuana <small>Avinoff, 1916</small>
- Parnassius acdestis takedai <small>Mikami & Sakakibara, 1988</small>
- Parnassius acdestis vogti <small>(Bang-Haas)</small>
- Parnassius acdestis yanae <small>Huang, 1998</small>
Range
Kirghistan, Nepal, northern India (Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim), western China, Sinkiang and Szechwan.
Status
Very local. Rather rare. Not known to be threatened.
See also
References
- Sakai S., Inaoka S., Toshiaki A., Yamaguchi S., Watanabe Y., (2002) The Parnassiology. The Parnassius Butterflies, A Study in Evolution, Kodansha, Japan.
- Weiss Jean-Claude, (1999) Parnassiinae of the World, Hillside Books, Canterbury, UK. ,
Further reading
- - Swedish Wikipedia provides further references and synonymy
External links