Apollo

• GeneralProtected across Europe; its populations sit isolated on mountaintops, like islands.
• The caterpillars feed almost exclusively on stonecrops of the genus Sedum, and overwinter as larvae.
• More than two hundred subspecies have been described, varying in size, wing shape and density of black spots from place to place.
• The red spots on the hindwing fade in the sun, so in older individuals they are more orange.
• It is listed in Appendix II of CITES and of the Bern Convention and in Annex IV of the Habitats Directive; in Poland it is critically endangered and in the Czech Republic it is extinct.

Skeleton type

Invertebrate - chitin exoskeleton (insect)

Habitat and environment

Stony pasture and rocky ground high in the mountains

Size at birth

The caterpillar is wholly black and velvety, with rows of yellow or orange spots along the flanks and fine black hairs rising from warts; it reaches 5 cm

Sexual maturity

During copulation the male secretes a substance that solidifies and seals the female's genital opening, forming a membrane called a sphragis, which prevents her from mating again with another male. Just before laying, the membrane loses its firmness and allows her to lay. It is a feature unique among the butterflies of Europe

Gestation / incubation

An unusual case: the caterpillar forms completely inside the egg and overwinters in there, emerging at the start of spring. The chrysalis forms in May or June, among stones or under moss in a loosely spun cocoon, and the metamorphosis lasts from 10 days to several weeks

Litter / clutch size

The eggs are laid on or beside the food plants, stonecrops of the genera Sedum (mainly Sedum album) and Sempervivum

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parnassius_apollo; Sierra de Baza; ficha de especie de Parnassius apollo; Ficha de especie de Parnassius apollo (Natusfera/iNaturalist); Sierra de Baza, ficha Parnassius apollo; Biopedia; Asturnatura, ficha Parnassius apollo; MITECO, ficha de especie de interes comunitario; Guadarramistas, ficha Parnassius apollo; MITECO

Best time: It flies from June to August in mountain meadows with stony patches; in the Iberian Peninsula it reaches 2,400 m in the main mountain ranges