Zerynthia polyxena

Zerynthia polyxena, the southern festoon, is a butterfly belonging to the butterfly family Papilionidae.

Description

The southern festoon can reach a wingspan of 46Ã¢ÂÂ52 mm. The females have slightly longer wings, usually lighter colored than males. The basic color of the wings is yellow, with a complicated pattern of several black bands and spots.

On the edges of the hindwings they have a black sinuous line with a series of blue and red warning spots to deter potential predators (aposematism). The body is dark brown and bears red patches on the sides of the abdomen.

This species is rather similar to, and can be confused only with, the Spanish festoon (Z. rumina). The differences are in the presence of blue on the hind wings of Z. polyxena and the relatively lower amount of red on its forewings compared with Z. rumina. The ranges of these two species overlap only in southeast France.

The caterpillars of Z. polyxena are up to 35 millimeters long. They are initially black, then they are yellowish with six rows of fleshy orange and black spikes all over the body.

Description in Seitz

T. polyxena Schiff. & Den. (= hypermnestra Scop.hypsipyle Fabr.). Light yellow, with spots and dentate lines, the hindwing bearing red submarginal spots. South Europe, from Southern France to the Black Sea, and Asia Minor. Ã¢ÂÂ In ab. rumina Esp.). the black costal spots of the forewing bear red centres, also on the upperside, while usually such red dots are found only in some places of the underside. This form is not rare in some localities, for instance in the West of the Balcan Peninsula. Ã¢ÂÂ Specimens in which the black colour is extended are known as ab. cassandra Hb. (= demnosia Frr., creusa Meig.) (9f); the proportional extent of black is, however, individually very variable. Such melanotic specimens occur everywhere singly as aberrations, but are found as the only form in some localities, for instance Dalmatia. Ã¢ÂÂ ab. ochracea Stgr. (=polymnia Mill.) (9f) is the name of individuals in which the light yellow colour is replaced by a magnificent dark yellow. Also this form occurs everywhere among the ordinary form, but is in certain places especially plentiful. Ã¢ÂÂ ab. meta Meig. (= flavomaculata Schilde, rufescens Oberth., rumina, alba Esp) (9f), however, is everywhere a rare aberration, the red colour of the purple spots being replaced by dark yellow. Ã¢ÂÂ In ab. bella Neub. the third costal spot is reduced. Ã¢ÂÂ The full-grown larva reddish yellow r black-brown, with pointed setiferous tubercles; in May and June on Aristolochia, especially in moist and warm localities. The statement that the larva feeds also on Quercus ilex is doubtless occasioned by an error of identification. The pupa is very slender, being yellowish grey, marked with brown.

Distribution

Z. polyxena is widespread in the middle and southern Europe (southeastern France, Italy, Slovakia and Greece) covering all the Balkans and reaching the south of Kazakhstan and the Urals. Although they are widespread they occur only locally.

Habitat

These rare butterflies can be found in warm, sunny and open places such as grassy herb-rich meadows, vineyards, river banks, wetlands, cultivated areas, brushy places, wasteland, rocky cliffs and karst terrains, at an elevation of from 0 to 1,700 metres above sea level but usually below 900 metres.

Biology

It is an early spring butterfly. Adults fly from April to June in a single brood. The adults are active for no more than three weeks. The females lay their eggs singly or in small groups at the bottom of the host plants. When found in the wild they prefer to live and lay their eggs in densely vegetated areas, and there is a positive correlation between number of leaves on the host plant and number of eggs laid by females. The eggs are spherical and whitish at first, bluish colored before hatching. The caterpillars feed on birthworts (mainly (Aristolochia clematitis, Aristolochia rotunda, Aristolochia pistolochia, Aristolochia pallida). The special food of the larvae provides the toxic substances which then also go to the adults, making them unpalatable. The young caterpillars feed at first on flowers and young shoots, while after the second molt they feed on leaves. The pupae stay linked to a support by a silk belt for wintering and the new adults hatch the next spring.

Subspecies and forms

Under the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, Article 1.3.4, names used only below the rank of subspecies do not enter into consideration in zoological nomenclature; infrasubspecific names do not have formally recognized authorship, and do not compete for priority or homonymy with names used for species or subspecies. Accordingly, all of the names used for "forms" of Z. polyxena listed below must be disregarded as having no nomenclatural standing whatsoever, even though many are presented with authors and dates.

Subspecies and forms include:

Zerynthia polyxena polyxena (Denis & SchiffermÃÂ¼ller, 1775) in Italy
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. punctata Schultz, 1908
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. marpha Schultz, 1908
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. rubra Hoffmann], 1916
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. bella Neuburger, 1903
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. bipunctata Cosmovici, 1892
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. meridionalis Hoffmann, 1916
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. tripunctata Zelezny, 1916
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. nora Schultz, 1908 (kreusa Tomala)
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. muelleri Bryk, 1921 (mulleri Bryk, recte muelleri)
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. springeri Ronnicke, 1906
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. reducta Zelezny, 1915
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. nigromaculata Zelezny, 1915
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. unimaculata Zelezny, 1915
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. demaculata Schultz, 1908
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. confluens Schultz, 1908
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. lateviltata Schultz, 1908
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. fasciata Begrer, 1919
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. skalae Zelezny, 1917
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. derubescens Zullich, 1928
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. alba Esper, 1805
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. subalba Schultz, 1908
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. rufescens OberthÃÂ¼r, 1879
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. meta Meigen
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. ochracea Staudinger, 1861
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. cellopura Eisner
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. basinigra Eisner
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. quincunx Eisner
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. divisa Schultz, 1908
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. ornata Eisner
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. vitrina Rothschild
Zerynthia polyxena polyxena f. irregularis Holland
Zerynthia polyxena aemiliae Rocci, 1929 in North Italy; Lombardy: Massa Lombarda, Modena, Livorno
Zerynthia polyxena albanica Riemel, 1927 in Albania
Zerynthia polyxena australis (Esper, 1780) (medesicaste Hoffmannsegg) (south France: Provence - east Pyrenees)
Zerynthia polyxena australis f. alicea Neuburger, 1903
Zerynthia polyxena australis f. paucipunctata Neuburger
Zerynthia polyxena australis f. tristis Verity
Zerynthia polyxena australis f. divisa Schultez
Zerynthia polyxena australis f. hartmanni Staudfuss, 1896
Zerynthia polyxena australis f. unipunctata Eisner, 1954
Zerynthia polyxena australis f. minusculus Eisner
Zerynthia polyxena australis f. vitrina Rothschild sensu Eisner
Zerynthia polyxena australis f. aperta Eisner, 1954
Zerynthia polyxena australis f. quincunx Eisner
Zerynthia polyxena australis f. honnerathii Boisduval, 1832
Zerynthia polyxena australis f. albescens Eisner
Zerynthia polyxena australis f. binaria Eisner
Zerynthia polyxena bosniensis Eisner, 1974 in Bosnia
Zerynthia polyxena bosniensis f. ochracea Staudinger, 1861
Zerynthia polyxena bosniensis f.reducta Zelzny, 1915
Zerynthia polyxena bryki Eisner, 1954 in Montenegro, Herzegovina border
Zerynthia polyxena cantabrica Gomez-Bustille (Spain: Cantabrica)
Zerynthia polyxena carmenae Sabariego et Martinez, 1991 in Bulgaria
Zerynthia polyxena cassandra (Geyer, 1828) in south France, north Italy
Zerynthia polyxena cassandra f. ochracea Staudinger, 1861
Zerynthia polyxena cassandra f. vitrina Rothschild, 1918
Zerynthia polyxena cassandra f. inornata Pionneau
Zerynthia polyxena cassandra f. bella Neuburger
Zerynthia polyxena cassandra f. reducta ÃÂ½eleznÃÂ½, 1915
Zerynthia polyxena cassandra f. quincunx Eisner
Zerynthia polyxena cassandra f. microcreusa Verity, 1947
Zerynthia polyxena cassandra f. deminuta Verity, 1947
Zerynthia polyxena cassandra-clara Verity, 1947 in Croatia
Zerynthia polyxena castiliana Ruhl, 1892 (transcastilia Mon) (Central Spain: Castilia, AlbarracÃÂn)
Zerynthia polyxena castiliana f. derubescens Schultz
Zerynthia polyxena castiliana f. honnorathii Boisduval, 1832 (henrietta Timmins)
Zerynthia polyxena castiliana f. tristis Verity, 1906
Zerynthia polyxena castiliana f. semitristis de Sagarra, 1930
Zerynthia polyxena castiliana f. ornatissima Blachier, 1908
Zerynthia polyxena castiliana f. nigricans Holland
Zerynthia polyxena castiliana f. alicea Neuburger, 1903
Zerynthia polyxena catalonica de Sagarra 1930 (Spain: Catalonia)
Zerynthia polyxena catalonica f. semitristis de Sagarra, 1930
Zerynthia polyxena caucasiae Nardelli & Hirschfeld, 2002 north west of Caucasus
Zerynthia polyxena creusa Meigen, 1829 (central Italy: Ventimiglia (Verity, 1950), cf. Eisner, 1974!)
Zerynthia polyxena decastroi Sala & Bollino, 1992 in Italy
Zerynthia polyxena deminuta Verity, 1947 southern of France
Zerynthia polyxena demnosia Freyer, 1833 (Dahl MS) (albanica Riemel], thusnelda Schultz) (= ssp. macedonia Eisner, 1974 (Macedonia, Thessalia, Dalmatia, Albania)
Zerynthia polyxena demnosia f. quincunx Eisner
Zerynthia polyxena demnosia f. vitrina Rothschild
Zerynthia polyxena demnosia f. ochracea Staudinger, 1861
Zerynthia polyxena gracilis Schultz, 1908 in north-east Turkey: Brusa, Karagja Dagh
Zerynthia polyxena idaensis Eisner, 1974 in Crete
Zerynthia polyxena idaensis f. rumina Linne, 1758
Zerynthia polyxena latevittata (Verity, 1919) in Sicily
Zerynthia polyxena latiaris Stichel, 1907 in south Italy: Calabria, Rome, Monti Albani
Zerynthia polyxena linnea (Bryk, 1932) in Italy, Elba
Zerynthia polyxena macedonia Eisner, 1974 in Macedonia
Zerynthia polyxena michaelis Nardelli, 1993 in Italy
Zerynthia polyxena microcreusa Verity, 1947 southern of France
Zerynthia polyxena minima Gerhardinger, 1951 Spain: Toledo)
Zerynthia polyxena nemorensis (Verity, 1919) in Italy: Toscana, Firenze.
Zerynthia polyxena nigra Sijaric, 1989 in Bosnia
Zerynthia polyxena padana Rocci, 1929 in north Italy: Piedmont, Lombardy, Turin
Zerynthia polyxena patrizii Nardelli, 1993 in Italy
Zerynthia polyxena petheri Romei, 1927 (south Spain: Sierra Nevada)
Zerynthia polyxena petri (Bryk, 1932) in Greece, south Ukrainskaja: Cherson, Kiev, lower Juzinyi Bug, Krim
Zerynthia polyxena polymnia (MilliÃÂ¨re, 1880) in Greece: Euboea
Zerynthia polyxena reverdinii Fruhstorfer, 1908 in west and north Italy: Liguria.
Zerynthia polyxena silana Storace, 1962 in Italy
Zerynthia polyxena sontae Sijaric, 1989 in Serbia
Zerynthia polyxena taygetana Rosen, 1929 in Greece: Taygetus, Peleponesos
Zerynthia polyxena thesto Fruhstorfer, 1908 in south-west U.S.S.R.: lower Volga, Saratow, lower Don
Zerynthia polyxena thesto f. rufescens OberthÃÂ¼r, 1879
Zerynthia polyxena thesto f. muelleri Bryk, 1991
Zerynthia polyxena thesto f. cellopura Eisner
Zerynthia polyxena tristis de Lattin, 1950 in Turkey
Zerynthia polyxena vipsania Hemming, 1941 (:latevittata Verity, 1919, a secondary homonym of latevittata Schultz, 1908: creusa Mann, nec Meigen, Dahl MS: polymnia Ragusa, 1906, (Sicily)

References

Bibliography

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