Parnassius imperator

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Imperial Apollo

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Parnassius
Species: P. imperator
Binomial name
Parnassius imperator
Oberthür, 1883

Imperial Apollo Parnassius imperator is a high altitude butterfly which is found in India. It is a member of the Snow Apollo genus Parnassius of the Swallowtail (Papilionidae) family.

Contents

[edit] Description

Race augustus, Fruhstorfer. Male upperside creamy-white. Fore wing: costa and base closely irrorated with black scales; the usual short transverse medial and apical black bars across the cell, followed by irregularly sinuous, broad, transverse, dusky-black discal and postdiscal, complete bands that extend from the costa to the dorsum; the discal band very broad, below the apex of cell bent inwards and almost completely filling the base of interspaces 2 and 3; the terminal margin broadly dusky hyaline black. Hind wing: the dorsal margin up to the subcostal vein and downwards to a little above the tornus densely irrorated with black scales and with scattered long white hairs; an upper basal black-encircled crimson spot; another in the middle of interspace 7 and a third in interspace 5, the latter two centred with white ; beyond there is an irregular, sinuous, postdiscal dusky-black transverse band from costa to vein 4, posterior to which in interspaces 2 and 3 are two prominent round black subtornal spots, broadly centred with blue; lastly, the terminal margin narrowly dusky black. Cilia of both fore and hind wings prominently yellowish white- Underside similar; glassy markings similar, but mostly seen by transparency from above: faint indications of an additional crimson spot at base of cell and base of interspace 1. Antenna brownish black, obscurely annulated with brown ; head, thorax and abdomen black, the latter two studded with long white hairs.[1]

[edit] Range

Tibet, China. Previously known from Northern-eastern part of India (Sikkim), which currently is occupied by China.

[edit] Status

Common sub-alpine species in China. Not known to be threatened as a species. The subspecies P. i. augustus is protected by law in India.[2]

[edit] Cited references

  1. ^ Bingham, C. T. 1907. Fauna of British India. Butterflies. Volume 2
  2. ^ Collins, N.M., Morris, M.G. (1985) Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World. IUCN. ISBN 2-88032-603-6

[edit] Other references

  • Evans, W.H., (1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies (2nd Ed), Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India
  • Wynter-Blyth, M.A., (1957) Butterflies of the Indian Region, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India.
  • Sakai S., Inaoka S., Toshiaki A., Yamaguchi S., Watanabe Y., (2002) The Parnassiology. The Parnassius Butterflies, A Study in Evolution, Kodansha, Japan. ISBN 4-06-124051-X
  • Weiss Jean-Claude, (1999) Parnassiinae of the World, Hillside Books, Canterbury, UK. ISBN 0-9532240-2-3, OCLC 41072974

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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