Zerynthia polyxena

The Southern Festoon (Zerynthia polyxena) is a striking butterfly belonging to the Papilionidae family of butterflies. Its flight time is from April to June in a single brood.

Description

The Southern Festoon (Z. polyxena) can reach a wingspan of 60–80 mm. The females have slightly longer wings, usually lighter colored than males. The basic color of the wings is yellow, but they have a complicated pattern of several black bands and spots. On the edges of the hindwings they have a series of blue and red warning spots to deter potential predators. The body is dark brown and bears red patches on the sides of the abdomen.

This butterfly 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 as compared to Z. rumina.

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. They feed on birthworts (Aristolochia sp.), mainly (Aristolochia clematitis and Aristolochia rotunda). The special food of the larvae provides the toxic substances which then also go to the adults, making them inedible.

Development

The adults are active for no more than 3 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 young caterpillars feed at first on flowers and young shoots, while after the second moult 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.

Distribution

Zerynthia polyxena is widespread in the middle and southern Europe (southeastern France, Italy, Slovakia and Greece) covering all the Balkans and reaching the south of Kazakhstan and the Urals. Although they are widespread they occur only locally.^[2][3]

Habitat

These butterflies can be found in warm, sunny and open places such as vineyards, river banks, wetlands, cultivated areas, brushy places, wasteland, rocky cliffs and karst terrains, at an elevation of about 1,700 meters above sea level, but usually under 900 meters.

Subspecies

• Zerynthia polyxena aemiliae (Rocci, 1929) in Italy.
• Zerynthia polyxena albanica (Riemel, 1927) in Albania.
• Zerynthia polyxena bosniensis (Eisner, 1974) in Bosnia.
• Zerynthia polyxena bryki (Eisner, 1954)
• Zerynthia polyxena carmenae (Sabariego et Martinez, 1991) in Bulgaria.
• Zerynthia polyxena cassandra (Geyer, 1828) in France and Italy.
• Zerynthia polyxena cassandra-clara (Verity, 1947) in Croatia.
• Zerynthia polyxena caucasiae (Nardelli & Hirschfeld, 2002) north west of Caucasus.
• Zerynthia polyxena decastroi (Sala et Bollino, 1992) in Italy.
• Zerynthia polyxena deminuta (Verity, 1947) southern of France.
• Zerynthia polyxena demnosia (Freyer, 1833) in former Yugoslavia.
• Zerynthia polyxena gracilis (Schultz, 1908) in Turkey
• Zerynthia polyxena idaensis (Eisner, 1974) in Crete
• Zerynthia polyxena latevittata (Verity, 1919) in Sicily
• Zerynthia polyxena latiaris (Stichel, 1907) in Italy.
• Zerynthia polyxena linnea (Bryk, 1932) in Italy.
• Zerynthia polyxena macedonia (Eisner, 1974) in Macedonia.
• Zerynthia polyxena michaelis (Nardelli, 1993) in Italy.
• Zerynthia polyxena microcreusa (Verity, 1947) southern of France.
• Zerynthia polyxena nemorensis (Verity, 1919) in Italy.
• Zerynthia polyxena nigra (Sijaric, 1989) in Bosnia.
• Zerynthia polyxena padana (Rocci, 1929) in Italy.
• Zerynthia polyxena patrizii (Nardelli, 1993) in Italy.
• Zerynthia polyxena petri (Bryk, 1932) in Greece.
• Zerynthia polyxena polymnia (Millière, 1880
• Zerynthia polyxena reverdinii (Fruhstorfer, 1908) in Italy.
• Zerynthia polyxena silana (Storace, 1962) in Italy.
• Zerynthia polyxena sontae (Sijaric, 1989) in Serbia.
• Zerynthia polyxena taygetana (Rosen, 1929) in Greece^[1][3]

Gallery

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  Imago. Lateral view

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  Eggs

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  Young caterpillar

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  Mounted specimen

Synonymy

polyxena Denis and Schiffermuller 1775 ( hypermnestra Scopoli, 1763)

hypsiphyle Fabricus, 1777

hypsipyle Schultzen, 1776

Bricuox (1975) has all South France populations under creusa Meigen described from Italy, with four sub-races that might or might not be comparable to local (ecological) races or forms:- creusa trans cassandra (Gard): creusa (Nice): microcreusa (Roquebrune) thus following the example set by Verity. The need for a strict revision is much in evidence.

Subspecies

(a) cassandra Hubner and Geyer, 1823-3 (1828) South France, North Italy.

forms

ochracea Staudinger, 1861

vitrina Rothschild, 1918

inornata Pionneau

bella Neuburger

reducta Železný, 1915

quincunx Eisner

microcreusa Verity, 1947

deminuta Verity, 1947

(b) padana Rocci, 1929 (North Italy: Piedmont, Lombardy, Turin)

(c) aemiliae Rocci, 1929 (North Italy; Lombardy: Massa Lombarda, Modena, Livorno)

(d) reverdini Fruhstorfer, 1908 (West and North Italy: Liguria)

(e) nemorensis Verity, 1919 (Italy:Toscana, Firenze)

(f) linnea Bryk, 1932 (Elba)

(g) creusa Meigen, 1829 (Central Italy: Ventimiglia (Verity, 1950), cf. Eisner, 1974!)

(h) latiaris Stichel, 1907 (south Italy: Calabria, Rome, Monti Albani)

(i) vipsania Hemming, 1941 (:latevittata Verity, 1919, a secondary homonym of latevittata Schultz, 1908: creusaMann, nec Meigen, Dahl MS: polymnia Ragusa, 1906, (Sicily)

(j) polyxena Denis and Schiffermuller, 1775 ( cassandra Menetries (Austria, Hungary, Roumania)

punctata Schultz, 1908

marpha Schultz, 1908

rubra Hoffmann, 1916

bella Neuburger, 1903

bipunctata Cosmovici, 1892

meridionalis Hoffmann, 1916

tripunctata Zelezny, 1916

nora Schultz, 1908 (kreusa Tomala)

muelleri Bryk, 1921 (mulleri Bryk, recte muelleri)

springeri Ronnicke, 1906

reducta Zelezny, 1915

nigromaculata Zelezny, 1915

unimaculata Zelezny, 1915

demaculata Schultz, 1908

confluens Schultz, 1908

lateviltata Schultz, 1908

fasciata Begrer, 1919

skalae Zelezny, 1917

derubescens Zullich, 1928

alba Esper, 1805

subalba Schultz, 1908

rufescens Oberthur, 1879

meta Meigen

ochracea Staudinger, 1861

cellopura Eisner

basinigra Eisner

quincunx Eisner

divisa Schultz, 1908

ornata Eisner

vitrina Rothschild

irregularis Holland

(k) petrii Bryk (South Ukrainskaja: Cherson, Kiev, lower Juzinyi Bug, Krim)

(l) thesto Fruhstorfer, 1908 (South-West U.S.S.R.: lower Volga, Saratow, lower Don

rufescens Oberthur, 1879

muelleri Bryk, 1991

cellopura Eisner

(m) demnosia Freyer, 1833 (Dahl MS) ( albanica Riemel, thusnelda Schultz) (= ssp. macedonia Eisner, 1974 (Macedonia, Thessalia, Dalmatia Albania, )

chrysocoma Niepelt

quincunx Eisner

vitrina Rothschild

ochracea Staudinger, 1861

(n) bryki Eisner, 1954 (Montenegro, Herzegovina border)

(o) bosniensis Eisner, 1974 (Bosnia)

ochracea Staudinger, 1861

reducta Zelzny, 1915

(p) polymnia Milliere, 1880 (Greece: Euboea)

(q) taygetana von Rosen, 1929 (Greece: Taygetus, Peleponesos)

(r) gracilis Schultz, 1908 (North-east Turkey: Brusa, Karagja Dagh)

(s) idaensis Eisner, 1974 (Crete)

rumina Linne, 1758

(a) australis Esper, 1780 ( medesicaste Hoffmannsegg) (South France: Provence - East Pyrenees)

Forms

alicea Neuburger, 1903

paucipunctata Neuburger

tristis Verity

divisa Schultez

hartmanni Staudfuss, 1896

unipunctata Eisner, 1954

minusculus Eisner

vitrina Rothschild sensu Eisner

aperta Eisner, 1954

quincunx Eisner

honnerathii Boisduval, 1832

albescens Eisner

binaria Eisner

(b) castiliana Ruhl, 1892 (transcastilia Mon) (Central Spain: Castilia, Albarracín)

forms

derubescens Schultz

honnorathii Boisduval, 1832 (henrietta Timmins)

tristis Verity, 1906

semitristis de Sagarra, 1930

ornatissima Blachier, 1908

nigricans Holland

alicea Neuburger, 1903

(c) catalonica de Sagarra 1930 (Spain: Catalonia)

semitristis de Sagarra, 1930

(d) petheri Romei, 1927 (South Spain: Sierra Nevada)

(e) minima Gerhardinger, 1951 Spain: Toledo)

(g) cantabrica Gomez-Bustille (Spain: Cantabrica)

References

External links

• European Butterflies and Moths
• Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
• Globis Gart

• Media related to Zerynthia polyxena at Wikimedia Commons