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LEPIDOPTERA

Parnassius delphius
Parnassius delphius delphius Eversmann, 1843

· TYPE LOCALITY."Altai" [Dzhungarsky Alatau, Kazakhstan]. In the original
description, the indication of "Altai" as the type locality is wrong.
· RANGE. Dzhungarsky Alatau and Tian-Shan.
· DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. Due to the extreme variability of the species, a great number of infraspecific taxa has been erected, often with a great deal of inaccuracy. According to the modern views, the geographical distribution of subspecies can be summarized in the following way. In the mountains NW. of Lake Issyk-Kul, there lives the ssp. namanganus Staudinger, 1886; to the SW. the ssp. albulus Honrath, 1889; to the north the ssp. pulchra (Eisner, 1939); in the central Tian-Shan the ssp. constans 0. Bang-Haas, 1915. The nominate subspecies has been recorded in Dzhungarsky Alatau. Among the most notable. infrasubspecific forms, the melanistic styx Staudinger, 1886 and satanas A. Bang- Haas, 1910 should be mentioned first of all. They are mainly characteristic of the eastern parts of the range, where they sometimes constitute a considerable part of the population, yet found rarely also in the Inner Tian-Shan. Such forms are frequently reported also in other Parnassius species, their melanism being determined by lower temperatures and humidity rates during pupation.
· HABITATS AND BIOLOGY. Typical of, but not equally abundant on, high-montane rocky slopes at altitudes exceeding 3,000 m a.s.l. In some places, it inhabits also mountain meadows. Flight period: June-July.Host plants : Cysticorydalis fedtschenkoana (on stonefalls), Corydalis orlobrichis (in meadow habitats).
· SIMILAR SPECIES. P. patricius. UPH tornal ocelli either lacking blue color or absent; sphragis much smaller in females.

Photo and text: Guide to the BUTTERFLIES OF RUSSIA and adjacent territories Volume 1. PENSOFT, Sofia - Moscow. 1997