''Zerynthia polyxena'', the southern festoon, is a butterfly belonging to the

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 ...

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 ...

Zerynthia polyxena - Südlicher Osterluzeifalter

Subspecies and forms

Under the rules of the

International Code of Zoological Nomenclature The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the ...

, Article 1.3.4, names used only below the rank of subspecies do not enter into consideration in zoological nomenclature; infrasubspecific names do not have formally recognized authorship, and do not compete for priority or homonymy with names used for species or subspecies. Accordingly, all of the names used for "forms" of ''Z. polyxena'' listed below must be disregarded as having no nomenclatural standing whatsoever, even though many are presented with authors and dates.

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 ...

and forms include: * ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' ( Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) in Italy ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''punctata'' Schultz, 1908 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''marpha'' Schultz, 1908 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''rubra'' Hoffmann], 1916 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''bella'' Wilhelm Neuburger, Neuburger, 1903 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''bipunctata'' Cosmovici, 1892 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''meridionalis'' Hoffmann, 1916 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''tripunctata'' Zelezny, 1916 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''nora'' Schultz, 1908 (''kreusa'' Tomala) ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''muelleri'' Bryk, 1921 (''mulleri'' Bryk, recte ''muelleri'') ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''springeri'' Ronnicke, 1906 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''reducta'' Zelezny, 1915 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''nigromaculata'' Zelezny, 1915 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''unimaculata'' Zelezny, 1915 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''demaculata'' Schultz, 1908 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''confluens'' Schultz, 1908 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''lateviltata'' Schultz, 1908 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''fasciata'' Begrer, 1919 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''skalae'' Zelezny, 1917 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''derubescens'' Zullich, 1928 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''alba'' Esper, 1805 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''subalba'' Schultz, 1908 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''rufescens'' Oberthür, 1879 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''meta'' Meigen ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''ochracea'' Staudinger, 1861 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''cellopura'' Eisner ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''basinigra'' Eisner ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''quincunx'' Eisner ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''divisa'' Schultz, 1908 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''ornata'' Eisner ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''vitrina'' Rothschild ** ''Zerynthia polyxena polyxena'' f. ''irregularis'' Holland * ''Zerynthia polyxena aemiliae'' Rocci, 1929 in North Italy; Lombardy:

Massa Lombarda Massa Lombarda ( rgn, La Mása) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ravenna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about east of Bologna and about west of Ravenna. Twin towns Massa Lombarda is twinned with: * Poreč Po ...

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

* ''Zerynthia polyxena albanica'' Riemel, 1927 in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

* ''Zerynthia polyxena australis'' (Esper, 1780) (''medesicaste'' Hoffmannsegg) (south France:

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

- east

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

) ** ''Zerynthia polyxena australis'' f. ''alicea'' Neuburger, 1903 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena australis'' f. ''paucipunctata'' Neuburger ** ''Zerynthia polyxena australis'' f. ''tristis'' Verity ** ''Zerynthia polyxena australis'' f. ''divisa'' Schultez ** ''Zerynthia polyxena australis'' f. ''hartmanni'' Staudfuss, 1896 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena australis'' f. ''unipunctata'' Eisner, 1954 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena australis'' f. ''minusculus'' Eisner ** ''Zerynthia polyxena australis'' f. ''vitrina'' Rothschild sensu Eisner ** ''Zerynthia polyxena australis'' f. ''aperta'' Eisner, 1954 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena australis'' f. ''quincunx'' Eisner ** ''Zerynthia polyxena australis'' f. ''honnerathii'' Boisduval, 1832 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena australis'' f. ''albescens'' Eisner ** ''Zerynthia polyxena australis'' f. ''binaria'' Eisner * ''Zerynthia polyxena bosniensis'' Eisner, 1974 in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

** ''Zerynthia polyxena bosniensis'' f. ''ochracea'' Staudinger, 1861 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena bosniensis'' f.''reducta'' Zelzny, 1915 * ''Zerynthia polyxena bryki'' Eisner, 1954 in

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...

border * ''Zerynthia polyxena cantabrica'' Gomez-Bustille (Spain: Cantabrica) * ''Zerynthia polyxena carmenae'' Sabariego et Martinez, 1991 in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

* ''Zerynthia polyxena cassandra'' (Geyer, 1828) in south

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, north

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

** ''Zerynthia polyxena cassandra'' f. ''ochracea'' Staudinger, 1861 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena cassandra'' f. ''vitrina''

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by sign ...

, 1918 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena cassandra'' f. ''inornata'' Pionneau ** ''Zerynthia polyxena cassandra'' f. ''bella'' Wilhelm Neuburger, Neuburger ** ''Zerynthia polyxena cassandra'' f. ''reducta'' Železný, 1915 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena cassandra'' f. ''quincunx'' Eisner ** ''Zerynthia polyxena cassandra'' f. ''microcreusa'' Verity, 1947 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena cassandra'' f. ''deminuta'' Verity, 1947 * ''Zerynthia polyxena cassandra-clara'' Verity, 1947 in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

* ''Zerynthia polyxena castiliana'' Ruhl, 1892 (''transcastilia'' Mon) (Central Spain: Castilia,

Albarracín Albarracín () is a Spanish town, in the province of Teruel, part of the autonomous community of Aragon. According to the 2007 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 1075 inhabitants. Albarracín is the capital of the mountainous Sier ...

) ** ''Zerynthia polyxena castiliana'' f. ''derubescens'' Schultz ** ''Zerynthia polyxena castiliana'' f. ''honnorathii'' Boisduval, 1832 (''henrietta'' Timmins) ** ''Zerynthia polyxena castiliana'' f. ''tristis'' Verity, 1906 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena castiliana'' f. ''semitristis'' de Sagarra, 1930 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena castiliana'' f. ''ornatissima'' Blachier, 1908 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena castiliana'' f. ''nigricans''

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

** ''Zerynthia polyxena castiliana'' f. ''alicea'' Neuburger, 1903 * ''Zerynthia polyxena catalonica'' de Sagarra 1930 (Spain:

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

) ** ''Zerynthia polyxena catalonica'' f. ''semitristis'' de Sagarra, 1930 * ''Zerynthia polyxena caucasiae'' Nardelli & Hirschfeld, 2002 north west of

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

* ''Zerynthia polyxena creusa'' Meigen, 1829 (central Italy:

Ventimiglia Ventimiglia (; lij, label=Intemelio, Ventemiglia , lij, label= Genoese, Vintimiggia; french: Vintimille ; oc, label= Provençal, Ventemilha ) is a resort town in the province of Imperia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is located southwest of ...

(Verity, 1950), cf. Eisner, 1974!) * ''Zerynthia polyxena decastroi'' Sala & Bollino, 1992 in

* ''Zerynthia polyxena deminuta'' Verity, 1947 southern of

* ''Zerynthia polyxena demnosia'' Freyer, 1833 ( Dahl MS) (''albanica'' Riemel], ''thusnelda'' Schultz) (= ssp. ''macedonia'' Eisner, 1974 ( Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia,

Thessalia Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thess ...

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

) ** ''Zerynthia polyxena demnosia'' f. ''quincunx'' Eisner ** ''Zerynthia polyxena demnosia'' f. ''vitrina'' Rothschild ** ''Zerynthia polyxena demnosia'' f. ''ochracea'' Staudinger, 1861 * ''Zerynthia polyxena gracilis'' Schultz, 1908 in north-east

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

: Brusa, Karagja Dagh * ''Zerynthia polyxena idaensis'' Eisner, 1974 in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

** ''Zerynthia polyxena idaensis'' f. ''rumina'' Linne, 1758 * ''Zerynthia polyxena latevittata'' (Verity, 1919) in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

* ''Zerynthia polyxena latiaris'' Stichel, 1907 in south Italy:

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Monti Albani * ''Zerynthia polyxena linnea'' (Bryk, 1932) in

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National ...

* ''Zerynthia polyxena macedonia'' Eisner, 1974 in Macedonia * ''Zerynthia polyxena michaelis'' Nardelli, 1993 in

* ''Zerynthia polyxena microcreusa'' Verity, 1947 southern of France * ''Zerynthia polyxena minima'' Gerhardinger, 1951 Spain: Toledo) * ''Zerynthia polyxena nemorensis'' (Verity, 1919) in Italy:

Toscana it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

Firenze Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. * ''Zerynthia polyxena nigra'' Sijaric, 1989 in Bosnia * ''Zerynthia polyxena padana'' Rocci, 1929 in north Italy:

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

* ''Zerynthia polyxena patrizii'' Nardelli, 1993 in

* ''Zerynthia polyxena petheri'' Romei, 1927 (south Spain:

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

) * ''Zerynthia polyxena petri'' (Bryk, 1932) in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, south Ukrainskaja: Cherson,

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, lower Juzinyi Bug, Krim * ''Zerynthia polyxena polymnia'' (Millière, 1880) in Greece:

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...

* ''Zerynthia polyxena reverdinii'' Fruhstorfer, 1908 in west and north Italy:

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

. * ''Zerynthia polyxena silana'' Storace, 1962 in

* ''Zerynthia polyxena sontae'' Sijaric, 1989 in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

* ''Zerynthia polyxena taygetana'' Rosen, 1929 in Greece:

Taygetus The Taygetus, Taugetus, Taygetos or Taÿgetus ( el, Ταΰγετος, Taygetos) is a mountain range on the Peloponnese peninsula in Southern Greece. The highest mountain of the range is Mount Taygetus, also known as "Profitis Ilias", or "Prophet ...

, Peleponesos * ''Zerynthia polyxena thesto'' Fruhstorfer, 1908 in south-west

U.S.S.R. The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

: lower

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

Saratow Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgo ...

, lower

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

** ''Zerynthia polyxena thesto'' f. ''rufescens'' Oberthür, 1879 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena thesto'' f. ''muelleri'' Bryk, 1991 ** ''Zerynthia polyxena thesto'' f. ''cellopura'' Eisner * ''Zerynthia polyxena tristis'' de Lattin, 1950 in Turkey * ''Zerynthia polyxena vipsania'' Hemming, 1941 (:''latevittata'' Verity, 1919, a secondary homonym of ''latevittata'' Schultz, 1908: ''creusa'' Mann, nec Meigen, Dahl MS: polymnia

Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to: Places Croatia * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...

, 1906, (

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

)

Distribution

''Z. polyxena'' is widespread in the middle and southern Europe (southeastern

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

and

) covering all the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

and reaching the south of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

and the

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through European ...

. Although they are widespread they occur only locally.Fauna Europaea
/ref>Tree of Life
/ref>

Habitat

These rare butterflies can be found in warm, sunny and open places such as grassy herb-rich meadows, vineyards, river banks, wetlands, cultivated areas, brushy places, wasteland, rocky cliffs and karst terrains, at an elevation of from 0 to 1,700 metres above sea level but usually below 900 metres.

Description

The southern festoon can reach a wingspan of 46–52 mm. The females have slightly longer wings, usually lighter colored than males. The basic color of the wings is yellow, with a complicated pattern of several black bands and spots. On the edges of the hindwings they have a black sinuous line with a series of blue and red warning spots to deter potential predators (

aposematism Aposematism is the advertising by an animal to potential predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defences which make the prey difficult to kill and eat, such as toxicity, venom, foul taste or ...

). The body is dark brown and bears red patches on the sides of the abdomen. This species is rather similar to, and can be confused only with, the Spanish festoon (''Z. rumina''). The differences are in the presence of blue on the hind wings of ''Z. polyxena'' and the relatively lower amount of red on its forewings compared with ''Z. rumina''. The ranges of these two species overlap only in southeast France. The caterpillars of ''Z. polyxena'' are up to 35 millimeters long. They are initially black, then they are yellowish with six rows of fleshy orange and black spikes all over the body. Zerynthia polyxena MHNT CUT 2013 3 8 Male Dos Montferrier-sur-Lez.jpg, Male Zerynthia polyxena MHNT CUT 2013 3 8 Male Ventre Montferrier-sur-Lez.jpg, Male bottom Zerynthia polyxena MHNT CUT 2013 3 8 female Dos Montferrier-sur-Lez.jpg, Female Zerynthia polyxena MHNT CUT 2013 3 8 female Ventre Montferrier-sur-Lez.jpg, Female bottom

Biology

It is an early spring butterfly. Adults fly from April to June in a single brood. The adults are active for no more than three weeks. The females lay their eggs singly or in small groups at the bottom of the host plants. The eggs are spherical and whitish at first, bluish colored before hatching. The caterpillars feed on birthworts (mainly (''

Aristolochia clematitis ''Aristolochia clematitis'', the (European) birthwort, is a twining herbaceous plant in the family Aristolochiaceae, which is native to Europe. The leaves are heart shaped and the flowers are pale yellow and tubular in form. The plant seeks ligh ...

'', '' Aristolochia rotunda'', ''

Aristolochia pistolochia ''Aristolochia pistolochia'' is a herbaceous plant in the family Aristolochiaceae endemic to Mediterranean areas across southwest Europe. Description ''Aristolochia paucinervis'' is a perennial geophyte carnivorous plant. Its rhizome is form ...

'', '' Aristolochia pallida'').Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfil
Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
/ref> The special food of the larvae provides the toxic substances which then also go to the adults, making them inedible. The young caterpillars feed at first on flowers and young shoots, while after the second molt they feed on leaves. The pupae stay linked to a support by a silk belt for wintering and the new adults hatch the next spring.

References

Bibliography

*Capinera, J. L. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Entomology, 4 voll., 2nd Ed., Dordrecht, Springer Science+Business Media B.V., 2008, pp. lxiii + 4346, , LCCN 2008930112, OCLC 837039413. *Dapporto, L., Speciation in Mediterranean refugia and post-glacial expansion of Zerynthia polyxena (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae). J. Zool. Syst. Evol. Res., in press.doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0469.2009.00550.x *Higgins, L.G, Riley, N.D, 1970; A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Britain and Europe *Kükenthal, W. (Ed.), Handbuch der Zoologie / Handbook of Zoology, Band 4: Arthropoda - 2. Hälfte: Insecta - Lepidoptera, moths and butterflies, in Kristensen, N. P. (a cura di), Handbuch der Zoologie, Fischer, M. (Scientific Editor), Teilband/Part 35: Volume 1: Evolution, systematics, and biogeography, Berlino, New York, Walter de Gruyter, 1999

998 Year 998 ( CMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescenti ...

pp. x + 491, , OCLC 174380917. *Nazari, V., Sperling, F.A.H. 2007; Mitochondrial DNA divergence and phylogeography in western Palaearctic Parnassiinae (Lepidoptera:Papilionidae): how many species are there? Insect Syst Evol 38:121–138. *Scoble, M. J., The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity, 2nd ed., London, Oxford University Press & Natural History Museum, 2011

992 Year 992 ( CMXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Worldwide * Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as fa ...

pp. xi, 404, , LCCN 92004297, OCLC 25282932. *Stehr, F. W. (Ed.), Immature Insects, 2 vol., 2nd ed. Dubuque, Iowa, Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co., 1991 987 pp. ix, 754, , LCCN 85081922, OCLC 13784377.

External links

Euro Butterflies by Matt Rowlings

Catalogue of life

DK – Pocket Nature
{{Taxonbar, from=Q913469

Polyxena In Greek mythology, Polyxena (; Greek: ) was the youngest daughter of King Priam of Troy and his queen, Hecuba. She does not appear in Homer, but in several other classical authors, though the details of her story vary considerably. After the ...

Butterflies described in 1775 Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Europe Taxa named by Michael Denis Taxa named by Ignaz Schiffermüller