Parnassius phoebus, known as the Phoebus Apollo or small Apollo, is a butterfly species of the swallowtail butterfly family, Papilionidae, found in the Palearctic and North America.
P. phoebus is found in the Alps, Urals, Siberia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, Alaska and Canada south into the northern United States.
Description
Male: the costal spots of forewing usually without red, the anterior one sometimes with white pupil; submarginal band faint and abbreviated or interrupted; no spot at hind margin; hindwing with red ocelli which are usually small, and sometimes with a submarginal row of feebly marked black spots; the veins often marked with well-defined elongate black punctures.
Female: with better defined and more extended markings; vitreous margin of forewing separated from the submarginal band by large white uniform spots; the second costal spots often pupilled red, connected with one another by black scaling, on disc sometimes blackish shadows; on hindwing a greyish vitreous marginal band, distinct submarginal half-moons, which are contiguous, forming a band, two larger red ocelli, the posterior one occasionally with white pupil; anal spots sometimes intensified and one of them filled in with red.
Habitat
Mountains at 1,600 to 2,800 meters, in particular between 1,800 and 2,200 meters above sea level, in humid damp and wet places such as edges of mountain streams and near springs and fresh seepages and in valleys (Schneetälchen) according to the preferences of its caterpillar food plant.
Larval foods
Subspecies
P. phoebus has the following subspecies:
* Parnassius phoebus alpestris <small>Verity, 1911</small>
* Parnassius phoebus var. anna <small>Stichel, 1907</small>
* Parnassius phoebus aktashicus
* Parnassius phoebus alaskensis <small>Eisner, 1956</small>
* Parnassius phoebus altaica <small>Ménétriés, 1859</small>
* Parnassius phoebus amalthea <small>Bryk & Eisner, 1935</small>
* Parnassius phoebus ampliusmaculata <small>Bryk, 1929</small>
* Parnassius phoebus apricatus <small>Stichel, 1906</small>
* Parnassius phoebus var. aristion <small>Fruhstorfer, 1923</small>
* Parnassius phoebus var. astriotes <small>Fruhstorfer, 1923</small>
* Parnassius phoebus badmaevi <small>Martynenko & Gluschenko, 2001</small>
* Parnassius phoebus bajangolus <small>Yakovlev, 2006</small>
* Parnassius phoebus basimaculata <small>Bryk & Eisner, 1935</small>
* Parnassius phoebus biexcelsior <small>Bryk & Eisner, 1935</small>
* Parnassius phoebus var. blachieri <small>Fruhstorfer, 1921</small>
* Parnassius phoebus bulawskii
* Parnassius phoebus catullius <small>Fruhstorfer, 1923</small>
* Parnassius phoebus cardinalis <small>Oberthür, 1891</small>
* Parnassius phoebus var. casta <small>Stichel, 1907</small>
* Parnassius phoebus cerenus <small>Martin, 1922</small>
* Parnassius phoebus chingizid <small>Yakovlev, 2006</small>
* Parnassius phoebus var. confederationis <small>Fruhstorfer, 1921</small>
* Parnassius phoebus corybas <small>Fischer De Waldheim, 1836</small>
* Parnassius phoebus costalinigroocellata <small>Bryk & Eisner, 1935</small>
* Parnassius phoebus crocedominensis <small>Nardelli & Sala, 1986</small>
* Parnassius phoebus cubitalis <small>Bryk & Eisner 1937</small>
* Parnassius phoebus var. cutullius <small>Fruhstorfer, 1923</small>
* Parnassius phoebus dakotaensis <small>Bryk & Eisner, 1935</small>
* Parnassius phoebus discocircumcincta <small>Eisner 1955</small>
* Parnassius phoebus eisneri <small>Bryk, 1928</small>
* Parnassius phoebus elias <small>Bryk, 1934</small>
* Parnassius phoebus ernaeides <small>Bryk & Eisner, 1937</small>
* Parnassius phoebus ernestinae <small>Bryk & Eisner, 1935</small>
* Parnassius phoebus var. expectatus <small>Fruhstorfer, 1921</small>
* Parnassius phoebus fermata <small>Bryk, 1921</small>
* Parnassius phoebus festal <small>Turati, 1932</small>
* Parnassius phoebus flavomaculata <small>Moltrecht, 1933</small>
* Parnassius phoebus fortuna <small>A Bang-Haas, 1912</small>
* Parnassius phoebus var. gulschenkoi <small>Iwamoto, 1997</small>
* Parnassius phoebus gazelii <small>Previel, 1936</small>
* Parnassius phoebus golovinus <small>Holland, 1930</small>
* Parnassius phoebus grundi <small>Bryk & Eisner, 1935</small>
* Parnassius phoebus guppyi <small>Wyatt, 1971</small>
* Parnassius phoebus halasicus <small>Huang & Murayama, 1992</small>
* Parnassius phoebus hansi <small>Bryk, 1945</small>
* Parnassius phoebus hardwicki <small>Kane, 1885</small>
* Parnassius phoebus hermador <small>dos Passos, 1964</small>
* Parnassius phoebus hermadur <small>Brown & Eff & Rotger, 1856</small>
* Parnassius phoebus var. hermiston <small>Fruhstorfer, 1922</small>
* Parnassius phoebus herrichi <small>Oberthür, 1891</small>
* Parnassius phoebus hollandi <small>Bryk & Eisner, 1935</small>
* Parnassius phoebus intermedius <small>Ménétriés,1849</small>
* Parnassius phoebus intermedioides <small>Storace, 1951</small>
* Parnassius phoebus interpositus <small>Herz, 1903</small>
* Parnassius phoebus kamtchatica <small>Ménétries, 1886</small>
* Parnassius phoebus lessini <small>Sala, 1996</small>
* Parnassius phoebus leonhardi <small>Rühl ,1892</small>
* Parnassius phoebus leucostigma <small>Austaut, 1912</small>
* Parnassius phoebus manitobaensis <small>Bryk & Eisner, 1935</small>
* Parnassius phoebus mariae <small>Bryk, 1912</small>
* Parnassius phoebus melanica <small>Verity, 1911</small>
* Parnassius phoebus melanophorus <small>Bryk, 1921</small>
* Parnassius phoebus mendicus <small>Stichel ,1907</small>
* Parnassius phoebus minor <small>Verity, 1907</small>
* Parnassius phoebus minusculus <small>Bryk,1912</small>
* Parnassius phoebus montanulus <small>Bryk & Eisner, 1931</small>
* Parnassius phoebus montanus <small>Ehrmann, 1918</small>
* Parnassius phoebus muelleri <small>Uffeln, 1920</small>
* Parnassius phoebus nanus <small>Neumoegen, 1890</small>
* Parnassius phoebus nigerrimus <small>Verity, 1907</small>
* Parnassius phoebus nigrescens <small>Wheeler 1903</small>
* Parnassius phoebus nikolaii <small>Asahi, Kohara, Kanda & Kawata, 1999</small>
* Parnassius phoebus nox <small>Bryk & Eisner, 1935</small>
* Parnassius phoebus ocellata <small>Verity, 1907</small>
* Parnassius phoebus ochotskensis <small>Bryk & Eisner, 1931</small>
* Parnassius phoebus orbifer <small>Bryk & Eisner, 1935</small>
* Parnassius phoebus var. palamedes <small>Hemming, 1934</small>
* Parnassius phoebus paradisiacus <small>Turati, 1932</small>
* Parnassius phoebus phoebus
* Parnassius phoebus pholus <small>Barnes & Benjamin, 1926</small>
* Parnassius phoebus plurimaculata <small>Nitsche, 1913</small>
* Parnassius phoebus polus <small>Ehrmann, 1917</small>
* Parnassius phoebus pseudocorybas <small>Verity, 1907</small>
* Parnassius phoebus quincunx <small>Bryk ,1915</small>
* Parnassius phoebus reducta <small>O. Bang-Haas, 1938</small>
* Parnassius phoebus rocky <small>Grum-Grshimallo ,1890</small>
* Parnassius phoebus rotgeri <small>Bang-Haas, 1938</small>
* Parnassius phoebus rubina <small>Wyatt, 1961</small>
* Parnassius phoebus rueckbeili <small>Deckert, 1909</small>
* Parnassius phoebus sacerdozi <small>Fruhstorfer, 1906</small>
* Parnassius phoebus sauricus <small>Lukhtanov, 1999</small>
* Parnassius phoebus savoieensis <small>Eisner, 1957</small>
* Parnassius phoebus sedakovi <small>Ménétriés, 1850</small>
* Parnassius phoebus var. serenus <small>Fruhstorfer, 1921</small>
* Parnassius phoebus sordellus <small>Fruhstorfer, 1923</small>
* Parnassius phoebus styriacus <small>Fruhstorfer, 1851</small>
* Parnassius phoebus tersa <small>Verity, 1947</small>
* Parnassius phoebus tessinorum <small>Fruhstorfer, 1921</small>
* Parnassius phoebus tsenguun <small>Churkin,</small> <small>2003</small>
* Parnassius phoebus uralensis <small>Ménétriés, 1859</small>
* Parnassius phoebus utahensis <small>Rothschild, 1918</small>
* Parnassius phoebus vaschenkoi <small>Hirschfeld & Schäffler, 2004</small>
* Parnassius phoebus velutus <small>Martin, 1922</small>
* Parnassius phoebus verity <small>Ehrmann, 1918</small>
* Parnassius phoebus veronicolus <small>Martin, 1922</small>
* Parnassius phoebus werschoturovi <small>O. Bang-Haas, 1934</small>
* Parnassius phoebus var. virginea <small>Austaut, 1910</small>
* Parnassius phoebus vorbrodti <small>Bryk & Eisner, 1943</small>
* Parnassius phoebus xanthus <small>Ehrmann, 1918</small>
* Parnassius phoebus zamolodtschikovi <small>A. Belik, 1996</small>
Similar species
Parnassius smintheus, which is a closely related species found in North America, is sometimes classified as a subspecies of Parnassius phoebus. Some researchers also tend to split the North American populations of P. smintheus into two or three species, the northernmost of which are usually accepted as being part of P. phoebus, while the rest are considered to be P. smintheus, though sometimes P. behrii is treated as a species, rather than a subspecies of smintheus.
References
- Bernard Turlin et Luc Manil, 2005 ÃÂtude synoptique et répartition mondiale des espèces du genre "Parnassius" Latreille 1804 ("Lepidoptera Papilionidae") Luc Manil, Paris.
External links