Parnassius glacialis in Mount Ryozen 2011-06-04

''Parnassius glacialis'', the glacial Apollo or Japanese clouded Apollo, is a high-altitude

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

found in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, eastern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. 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 larges ...

Description

''P. glacialis'' (Takashi ''et al.'' 2001) is much larger than ''

Parnassius stubbendorfi ''Parnassius stubbendorfi'' is a high-altitude butterfly found in from the Altai Mountains across central, south, and far east Siberia (Tuva, Buryat, Chita, Amur, Khabarovsk and Primorye), Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands and from Mongolia across n ...

'' of which it was once considered a subspecies. The blackish grey central spot of the cell is sometimes connected with the apical cell-spot by fuscous dusting along the sides of the cell, and the submarginal band of the forewing is more or less distinct and complete. The abdominal area of hindwing is deep black as far as the cell, clothed with white hairs; on and along the veins with blackish dusting. Collar, coxae and abdomen are laterally clothed with yellow or reddish yellow hairs. The wing underside is slightly yellow. In some Japanese specimens (from

Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...

) the cell-spots and the submarginal band of the forewing have entirely disappeared, or are only feebly indicated.

Classification

''P. glacialis'' has fifteen

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

(mostly described by

Felix Bryk Felix Bryk (21 January 1882, in Vienna – 13 January 1957, in Stockholm) was a Swedish anthropologist, entomologist and writer. In entomological circles, Bryk is best known as a lepidopterist; in anthropological history, for his studies in East A ...

and

Curt Eisner Curt Eisner (April 28, 1890 in Zabrze – December 30, 1981 in The Hague) was a German entomologist who specialised in snow butterflies or Parnassinae. His collections of Parnassinae are in Naturalis, in Leiden, and his Ornithoptera and Morp ...

). For a list of subspecies types in the British Museum (Natural History), see Ackery, P. R. (1973) A list of the type-specimens of

(Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) in the British Museum (Natural History). ''Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology'' 29 (1) (9.XI.1973): 1—35, 1 pl.

Range

It is found in eastern China, Korea and Japan. The type locality is "in Hakodadi (North Japan)" (by

lectotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

designation).Hakodadi is located near the southern limit of

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

Status

This butterfly is abundant but threatened by urbanisation in some areas.

Identification

The ''Parnassius'' genus of butterflies is often hard to identify and can sometimes only be identified by dissection of the genitalia.Ackery PR (1975) A guide to the genera and species of Parnassiinae (Lepidoptera:Papilionidae). ''Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History)'' (Ent.) 31,
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References

* Takashi Yagi, Toru Katoh, Anton Chichvarkhin, Tsutomu Shinkawa and Keiichi Omoto, 2001 “Molecular phylogeny of butterflies ''Parnassius glacialis'' and ''P. stubbendorfii'' at various localities in East Asia” ''Genes Genet. Syst.'' Vol. 76 229-234 * Nemoto T & Inomata T, 1994 Geographical and individual variations of the genus ''Parnassius'' Latreille, 1804: ''Parnassius stubbendorfii'' Ménétriès, 1848 8 pp 117–132; col pl 56–63; fig 43–46; stapled series eds: Ohya A & Inomata T;in: ''Illustrations of selected insects in the world'' , Lepidoptera

External links

Funet
Taxonomy, distribution

*Takashi Yagi1, Toru Katoh, Anton Chichvarkhin,Tsutomu Shinkawa and Keiichi Omoto Molecular phylogeny of butterflies ''Parnassius glacialis'' and ''P. stubbendorfii'' at various localities in East Asi

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1937280 Parnassius, glacialis Butterflies described in 1866