''Parnassius cardinal'', the cardinal Apollo, is a high-altitude butterfly which is found in north

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

. It is a member of the snow Apollo genus (''

Parnassius ''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 h ...

'') of the swallowtail family (

Papilionidae Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the larg ...

). The species was first described by Grigory Grum-Grshimailo in 1887. ''P. cardinal'' which was described as a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

was for many years thought to be a subspecies of '' Parnassius delphius'' but it is a distinct species. Macrolepidoptera01seitz 0037

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 Ackery P.R. (1975). A magnificent form f ''delphius'' profusely marked with black, the deep red ocelli of hindwing enlarged, their black borders connected by a broad bar; the females usually darker, with more extended pattern. On hindwing below large red basal spots and a red-centred hindmarginal spot. Stichel in Seitz, 1906 (Parnassius). ''Die Groß-Schmetterlinge der Erde''. Die Groß-Schmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes. Die palaearktischen Tagfalter, Stuttgart.

References

*Stshetkin, Ju.Ju. 1979. The species status of Parnassius cardinal Gr.Gr. and a new subspecies of Parnassius delphius Ev. (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae).'' Doklady Akademii Nauk Tadzhikskoi SSR'', 22 (2): 63-66.(in Russian) *Weiss, J.-C. 1992. ''The Parnassiinae of the World''. Part 2. Sciences Nat, Venette; 87 pp.

External links

RusinsectsGlobal Butterfly Information System
Images of nominate ssp. ''djamila'' Eisner & Naumann, 1980 ssp. ''noxinfernus'' Eisner & Naumann, 1980 cardinal Butterflies described in 1887 {{Papilionidae-stub

Description

References

Further reading

External links