Parnassius Acco Rosea

''Parnassius'' is a genus of northern circumpolar and montane (alpine and Himalayan) butterflies usually known as Apollos or snow Apollos. They can vary in colour and form significantly based on their altitude. They also show an adaptation to high altitudes called altitudinal melanism. They show dark bodies and darkened colouration at the wingbase which helps them warm faster using the sun.

Although classified under the swallowtail butterfly family, none of the ''Parnassius'' species possesses tails.

The larvae feed on species of plants belonging to the Papaveraceae and Crassulaceae families, and like the other swallowtail butterfly larvae, possess an osmeterium. Unlike most butterflies that have exposed pupae, they pupate inside a loose silken cocoon.

Identification and ecology

''Parnassius'' species of butterflies are often hard to identify and can sometimes only be identified by dissection of the genitalia.
The phylogeny of the group is still under study using molecular techniques. The exact number of species within the genus is disputed and numbers range from 38 to 47.

The ''Parnassius'' butterflies also have a peculiar reproductive strategy in that the male has special accessory glands that produce a mating plug that seals the female genitalia after mating. This is believed to ensure the success of the male and to prevent other males from mating and avoids sperm competition.

Butterflies of this genus have been widely used models to study metapopulations, population genetics and gene flow. Their patchy distribution and restricted migration makes them vulnerable to the effects of genetic drift and considerable colour variations can exist in individuals from different regions.

Species

Species include:

PARNASSIAN EVERSMANN'S (Parnassius eversmanni) (6-25-2016) denali highway, mile p13 pass, near paxson, alaska (5) (28494228324).jpg, '' Parnassius eversmanni''
Papilionidae - Parnassius apollo-1.JPG, ''Parnassius apollo''
Parnassius glacialis (side).JPG, ''Parnassius glacialis''
Parnassius mnemosyne - Dumanlı apollo 03.jpg, '' Parnassius mnemosyne''

Synonymy

Eight subgenera are recognized within the genus:
*''Driopa'' Korshunov, 1988 - type species: ''Papilio mnemosyne'' Linnaeus, 1758
*''Sachaia'' Korshunov, 1988 - type species: ''Parnassius tenedius'' Eversmann, 1851
*''Parnassius'' Latreille, 1804; ''Nouv. Dict. Hist. nat''. 24 (6): 185, 199 - type species: ''Papilio apollo'' Linnaeus
*''Tadumia'' Moore 902/small>; ''Lepidoptera Indica'', 5 (53): 116 - type species: ''Papilio acco'' Gray
*''Kailasius'' Moore, 902/small>; ''Lepidoptera Indica'', 5 (53): 118 - type species: ''Parnassius charltonius'' Gray
*''Koramius'' Moore, 902/small>; ''Lepidoptera Indica'', 5 (53): 120 - type species: ''Parnassius delphius'' Eversmann
*''Lingamius'' Bryk, 1935; ''Das Tierreich'' 65: 538-540 - type species: ''Parnassius hardwickii'' Gray
*''Eukoramius'' Bryk, 1935; ''Das Tierreich'' 65: 630, 673-674 - type species: ''Parnassius imperator'' Oberthür
Other names that are no longer valid include:
*''Parnassis'' Hübner, 819/small>; ''Verz. bekannter Schmett''. (6): 90 (or misspelled or emended?) - type species: ''Papilio apollo'' Linnaeus
*''Therius'' Billberg, 1820; ''Enum. Ins. Mus. Billb''.: 75 - type species: ''Papilio apollo'' Linnaeus
*''Doritis'' Fabricius, 1807; ''Magazin f. Insektenk''. (Illiger) 6: 283 - type species: ''Papilio apollo'' Linnaeus

Evolutionary relationships

A molecular phylogenetic study from 2008 suggests firstly that '' Baronia brevicornis'' Salvin 1893, rather than belonging to an outgroup Baroniinae belongs to Parnassiini, together with '' Hypermnestra'' and ''Parnassius''. Secondly that the earliest split within the genus ''Parnassius'' is between subgenus ''Parnassius'' (the 'apollo' group, whose caterpillars feed on Crassulaceae, exceptionally Saxifragaceae) and the ancestor of the remaining seven subgenera. The existence of the subgenera is confirmed by molecular phylogenies. Six of the other subgenera have Fumariaceae as the larval food plant, while the larvae of the remaining genus ''Kreizbergia'' feed on ScrophulariaceaeMichel, F.; Rebourg, C.; Cosson, E. & Descimon, H. (2008). "Molecular phylogeny of Parnassiinae butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) based on the sequences of four mitochondrial DNA segments". ''Annales de la Société Entomologique de France''. (n.s.) 44 (1): 1-36.

Important collections

* National Museum of Natural History, Leiden, (Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie) Curt Eisner collection: Types listed in Eisner, C. ''Parnassiidae-Typen in der Sammlung J.C.Eisner''. Leiden. E.J.Brill, 1966. 190 pp. Col.frontispiece & 84 plts.(Zool. Verh. RMNH, 81). Review of worldwide species of Parnassiidae, 719 taxa included.
* Natural History Museum, London: Specimens largely determined by Curt Eisner types listed in Ackery, P. R. (1973): A list of the type-specimens of Parnassius (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) in the British Museum (Natural History). ''Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology'' 29 (1) (9.XI.1973): 1—35, 1 p
pdf
* Ulster Museum, Belfast, H.M Peebles collection: Type list available on CD (Nash, R and Eisner, C.)
* Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris: Types listed by Bernardi, G., and Viette, P. 1966. Les types et typoides de Parnassius (s.l.) se trouvant au Museum de Paris. ''Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France'' 71 95-103, 163-166. 9 229-233, 304-309.

References

*

Further reading

*Kocman, S. 2009 ''Parnassius of Tibet and Adjacent Areas'' Tshikolovets, Kiev 64 col plates, maps, figs
* Glassberg, Jeffrey ''Butterflies through Binoculars, The West'' (2001)
* Guppy, Crispin S. and Shepard, Jon H. ''Butterflies of British Columbia'' (2001)
* James, David G. and Nunnallee, David ''Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies'' (2011)
* Pelham, Jonathan ''Catalogue of the Butterflies of the United States and Canada'' (2008)
* Pyle, Robert Michael ''The Butterflies of Cascadia'' (2002)
*Korb, S., 2020 An annotated checklist of the tribus Parnassiini sensu Korshunov of the Old World (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae) ''Acta Biologica'' Sibirica ISSN : 2412-1908

External links

"Genus ''Parnassius''"
''Insecta.pro''.

Type specimens at ETH



Photos de Parnassidae




GloBIS Database
Includes type images

NSG
Genetic (DNA) vouchers


Images

''Parnassius'' of the World
Goran Waldeck

{{Taxonbar , from=Q1766885

Butterfly genera
Papilionidae