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Archon apollinus

False Apollo
Archon apollinus bellargus 1.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Archon
Species: A. apollinus
Binomial name
Archon apollinus
(Herbst, 1789)

Archon apollinus, the false Apollo, is a species of butterfly belonging to the Parnassinae subfamily.

The species is found in Central and Eastern Europe and West Asia. They are found in Greece, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon, and like others of the family show considerable variation with four or five subspecies. A morphologically similar species Archon apollinaris has been recently separated and has been found to be sympatric and reproductively isolated.

Older individuals often lose their scales, especially on the forewings, and appear very transparent.

The larvae feed on species of Aristolochia including A. poecilantha, A. parviflora, A. bodamae, A. hirta, A. bottae, A. auricularia, A. rotunda, A. sempervirens, A. maurorum and A. billardieri.

A. a. apollinus, male - Turkey, MHNT

A. a. apollinus male, bottom - Turkey, MHNT

A. a. apollinus female - Turkey, MHNT

A. a. apollinus female, bottom - Turkey, MHNT

A. a. bellargus - Adana, Turkey

A rubra specimen - Aintab, Turkey, Ulster Museum

Female - Beirut

Male - Beirut

Race amasina - Amasya, Turkey

Race krystallina - Jerusalem


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Wikipedia

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