''Parnassius tenedius'', the tenedius Apollo, is an east
Palearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...
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 ...
). Populations range from
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
and the Far East of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
to the western
Chukchi Peninsula
The Chukchi Peninsula (also Chukotka Peninsula or Chukotski Peninsula; russian: Чуко́тский полуо́стров, ''Chukotskiy poluostrov'', short form russian: Чуко́тка, ''Chukotka''), at about 66° N 172° W, is the eastern ...
,
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
and north
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 ...
. The larva feeds on ''
Corydalis
''Corydalis'' (from Greek ''korydalís'' "crested lark") is a genus of about 470 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Papaveraceae, native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere and the high mountains of tropical eastern ...
'' species. In the northern part of its range it is a low altitude butterfly; further south it is montane.
Description
The forewing length is 17–31 mm; the wings have a white ground colour, often with a yellowish tint, and in females with a dark suffusion. The pattern consists of small separate black spots or strokes. Reddish or yellowish spots on the hindwings are elongate and to some extent stretched along the veins and may be reduced. The small
sphragis is irregular in shape. The eggs are white and glossy, with a fine cell sculpture. The shape is hemispheric with a dimple at the apex. The larva is dark brown with a row of pale-orange spots along the dorsum and two similar lateral rows on either side.
Description by
Adalbert Seitz
Friedrich Joseph Adalbert Seitz, (24 February 1860 in Mainz – 5 March 1938 in Darmstadt) was a German physician and entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. He was a director of the Frankfurt zoo from 1893 to 1908 and is best known for editi ...
(1909):
Subspecies
* ''Parnassius tenedius britae''
Bryk, 1932 East Siberia smaller size, in females there are a yellowish tint on the wings and the greyish marginal spots on the hindwings are fused into a continuous margin about 2 mm wide.
* ''Parnassius tenedius scepticus''
Bryk & Eisner, 1932 Described from Pribaikalye and the Stanovoe Nagorye upland
* ''Parnassius tenedius vulcanus''
Bryk & Eisner, 1932 Described from Altai (= ''sceptica'' Bryk in Korshunov & Gorbunov, 1995)
Biology
''P. tenedius'' is found where the food plant ''
Corydalis
''Corydalis'' (from Greek ''korydalís'' "crested lark") is a genus of about 470 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Papaveraceae, native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere and the high mountains of tropical eastern ...
'' (''
Corydalis capnoides'' in Altai) grows, that is in open forests and other places with disturbed soil. In Southern Siberia it occurs in the upper part of the forest belt at altitudes of 1000–2600 m, in Northern Siberia it occurs in valleys. The butterflies fly only in warm sun and when the sun disappears they rest with the wings spread on the ground or on stones. In Altai adults have been observed feeding on the flowers of ''
Iris humilis''. Eggs are laid singly. Often several eggs are laid on (sometimes in a row of 5-7) one young ''Corydalis'' or near it. The larvae hatch 7–10 days after oviposition. They pupate in the middle of the summer, the pupae hibernate. In Altai adults are found in late April to late June, in the mountains of Northeast Siberia adults emerge later from May until July.
[Korshunov & Gorbunov, 1995 Dnevnye babochki Aziatskoi chasti Rossii. pravochnik = The butterflies Rhopalocera of the Asian part of Russia. a handbook/ Yurii Korshunov, Pavel Gorbunov. Ekaterinburg. Izd-vo Uralskogo Gosudarstvennogo universiteta]
References
* Sakai S., Inaoka S., Toshiaki A., Yamaguchi S., Watanabe Y., (2002) ''The Parnassiology. The Parnassius Butterflies, A Study in Evolution'', Kodansha, Japan.
Further reading
*
sv:''Parnassius tenedius'' - Swedish Wikipedia provides further references and synonymy
External links
Parnassius of the WorldPhotos, range map and synonyms
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7139291
tenedius
Butterflies described in 1851