LEPIDOPTERA
PAPILIONIDAE Latreille,1802
PARNASSIUS Latreille,1804
Parnassius simo Gray, [1853]
Parnassius simo avinovi Verity, 1911
· RANGE. The E. Pamirs, the Himalaya, Ladakh, Hindu Kush, Kuen-Lun.
· DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. The species is widely distributed and reaches the E. Pamirs, where the ssp. avinovi Verity, 1911 (= hilariae Kreuzberg, 1986) occurs locally. The presence of the ssp. simulator Staudinger, 1889 and ssp. gylippos Fruhstorfer, 1901, both described from the "eastern part of the Fergana region", is still not confirmed by modern records in Middle Asia.
· HABITATS AND BIOLOGY. A mainly high-altitude species occurring on stony and clayey slopes, screes and rocks of the mountains at 4,200-5,000 m a.s.l. Flight low, "clipping"; the butterfly escapes between stones at danger. Plight period: short (about a week or two), July to early August. Host plants (Kreuzberg, 1984): most probably Lagotis globosa L. decumbens (Scrophulariaceae). Pupa hibernating.
· SIMILAR SPECIES. P. simonius. UPH submarginal band forming an even continuous curve. P. boedromius-. UPH submarginal band smoothly dentate.
Photo and text: Guide to the BUTTERFLIES OF RUSSIA and adjacent territories Volume 1. PENSOFT, Sofia - Moscow. 1997