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Parnassius apollo
The Apollo butterfly is a beautiful white butterfly, decorated with large black "eye" spots on the forewings and red eye-spots on the hindwings.These striking red eye-spots can vary in size and form depending on the location of the Apollo butterfly, and the bright red colour often fades in the sun, causing the eye-spots of older individuals to appear more orange. The wings are shiny, with slightly transparent edges,and some individuals are darker (melanistic); a general phenomenon common in many butterflies. The caterpillars of this species are velvety black with orange-red spots along the sides.As well as being a great deal of individual variation in the appearance of the Apollo butterfly, a number of subspecies have also been described.
Spotted during the ascent of the Puy de Dome in France.
5 Comments
Beautiful and rare butterfly! Welcome to PN :)
Thanks for your encouragement!
Very nice spotting of a beautiful butterfly!
Great spotting, wonderful images. Welcome to PN. Keep these brilliant spottings coming
Still one from my dreams ;-)...