Archon apollinus
Archon apollinus, the false Apollo, is a species of butterfly belonging to the Parnassinae subfamily.
False Apollo | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
Phylum: | |
Class: | |
Order: | |
Family: | |
Genus: | |
Species: | A. apollinus |
Binomial name | |
Archon apollinus (Herbst, 1789) | |
The species is found in Central and Eastern Europe and West Asia. They are found in Greece, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon, and like others of the family show considerable variation with four or five subspecies. A morphologically similar species Archon apollinaris has been recently separated and has been found to be sympatric and reproductively isolated.
Older individuals often lose their scales, especially on the forewings, and appear very transparent.
The larvae feed on species of Aristolochia including A. poecilantha, A. parviflora, A. bodamae, A. hirta, A. bottae, A. auricularia, A. rotunda, A. sempervirens, A. maurorum and A. billardieri.
Gallery
- A. a. apollinus, male - Turkey, MHNT
- A. a. apollinus male, bottom - Turkey, MHNT
- A. a. apollinus female - Turkey, MHNT
- A. a. apollinus female, bottom - Turkey, MHNT
- A. a. bellargus - Adana, Turkey
- A rubra specimen - Aintab, Turkey, Ulster Museum
- Female - Beirut
- Male - Beirut
- Race amasina - Amasya, Turkey
- Race krystallina - Jerusalem
Pupa
Footage of false Apollo
References
- Dixon, M. 1996. Archon apollinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 1996: e.T171925A6809917. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T171925A6809917.en. Downloaded on 12 April 2020.