''Parnassius hardwickii'', the common blue Apollo, is a high-altitude butterfly which is found in
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
. 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 ...
). This butterfly is found from the
Chitral District
Chitral District ( ur, ) was the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, covering an area of 14,850 km², before splitting into Upper Chitral District and Lower Chitral District in 2018. Part of the Malakand Divis ...
to
Sikkim
Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...
and is found from , making it one of the most commonly encountered species of Apollo in the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
.
Description
Male upperside creamy-white. Forewing: base and costal margin densely irrorated (sprinkled) with black scales; a broad short velvety black bar across middle of cell, another along the discocellulars and a third beyond apex of cell, this last with superposed spots of crimson where the bar crosses the bases of interspaces 5 and 8; a crimson-centred black spot in middle of interspace 1; an irregularly curved prominent postdiscal series of dusky-black spots, so arranged as to leave a narrow edging of the creamy-white ground colour beyond, which is traversed by the black veins; the upper four spots of the postdiscal series fused to form a broad, continuous, but short, curved band; the terminal margin broadly dusky black; the cilia white. Both the dusky-black band and the postdiscal dusky-black markings sub
hyaline
A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none.
Histopathology
Hyaline cartilage is ...
(almost glass like). Hindwing: base and dorsal margin broadly dusky black, the inner margin of the black colouration on the latter deeply but irregularly bi-emarginate; a crimson-centred black spot near base of interspace 5, another just beyond the middle of interspace 7, followed by a very conspicuous curved postdiscal series of five dull blue ocelli ringed with black and centred with white, and a narrow diffuse dusky black terminal band; cilia as in the forewing. Underside: similar, with a glassy appearance. Forewing: with the markings of the upperside visible by transparency; the white scaling of the upperside replaced by scale-like hairs of the same colour; the only scaled markings are the medial and apical transverse black bars in cell, three small crimson spots beyond and the black-encircled crimson spot in middle of interspace 1. Hindwing: the white scaling along the basal half of the costal margin nearly as on the upperside, the rest hair-like as on the underside of the forewing; a broad basal band of four crimson or vermilion-red spots followed by a discal irregular series of five similarly-coloured spots, the lower three formed into a short obliquely transverse band above the tornal angle; all the crimson spots encircled more or less obsoletely by black rings, and the following prominently centred with white: the spot in interspaces 2 and 5 and the basal and medial spots in interspace 7.
Female similar; the dusky black irroration on the upperside of the forewing more extensive and formed into a narrow irregular band below the cell, which runs between the crimson spots beyond the cell-apex and the crimson spot in interspace 1; the crimson spots are larger, with an additional spot in interspace 6 of the forewing and a pretornal spot on the hindwing. Underside: similar to that of the male but all the red spots much larger and with white scaling in the centre. Antennae nearly black, with only a few white specks, head with brownish-yellow pubescence; rest of the thorax and abdomen covered densely with long white hairs which also clothe, more or less narrowly, the dorsal margin of the hindwing.
Range
Himalayas, northern range of India (included
Sikkim
Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...
),
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
,
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
and other parts of China.
Status
It is not known to be threatened.
See also
*
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 ...
*
List of butterflies of India
The following is a list of the butterflies of India.
India has extremely diverse terrain, climate and vegetation, which comprises extremes of heat cold, desert and jungle, of low-lying plains and the highest mountains, of dryness and dampness, i ...
*
List of butterflies of India (Papilionidae)
This is a list of the butterflies of family Papilionidae (superfamily Papilionoidea), or the swallowtails, which are found in India. This family of large and beautiful butterflies is well represented with 89 species found within Indian borde ...
Cited references
Other references
* Sakai S., Inaoka S., Toshiaki A., Yamaguchi S., Watanabe Y., (2002) ''The Parnassiology. The Parnassius Butterflies, A Study in Evolution'', Kodansha, Japan.
* Weiss J.-C., (1999) ''Parnassiinae of the World - Part 3'',
Hillside Books, Canterbury Hillside Books, Canterbury was a publisher specialising in books on entomology and small equipment associated with this science.
Origin
It was established in 1989, directed by Lydie Leforestier.
Initially it was in Canterbury, England but then m ...
, UK.
Further reading
*
sv:''Parnassius hardwickii'' - Swedish Wikipedia provides further references and synonymy
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3365629
hardwickii
Insects of Pakistan
Butterflies described in 1831
Taxa named by John Edward Gray