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HABITAT
The adult Apollo butterfly can be seen during July and August on
sunny hills and mountains 1,500 to 6,500 feet above sea level. Its range stretches from
Spain in the west, through much of central Europe and southern Scandinavia, into Asia. It
is found as far east as Mongolia's Atlai Mountains.
The Apollo butterfly likes undisturbed, chalky slopes, where the
plants on which it feeds grow. But there are fewer and fewer quiet areas of appropriate
habitat, so concentrations of Apollo butterflies now tend to be widely scattered within
its range.
Above: The color on the wings of
the Apollo butterfly can vary considerably.
Above: The long antennae on the
Apollo's head are used for smelling and touching.
Above: During feeding, the Apollo
butterfly extends its tubular tongue, or proboscis, forward to act as a
flexible drinking straw. When at rest, it rolls its proboscis underneath its head.
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With its shimmering wings, the
Apollo butterfly appears as a flash of bold color as it flits from flower to flower across
mountain slopes, hills, and fields in much of Europe and parts of Asia.
LIFECYCLE
The female butterfly lays several hundred tiny, smooth, round
white eggs, either singly or in groups. They usually hatch in August or September, and a
caterpillar emerges.
The caterpillar has a tough skin, or exoskeleton, which can
expand only to a certain size. To continue to grow, the caterpillar must molt--discarding
its old skin for a new, soft skin, which hardens in the sun. The caterpillar eats until it
fills this skin, then molts again. It may molt five times before it is fully grown.
It then crawls down the plant and buries itself in the ground,
where its body becomes short and squat. A final molt leaves it with a waxy skin inside a
loose, silken cocoon, or pupal case. In the pupal stage, the body completely dissolves and
is rebuilt as a butterfly. After two months, the chrysalis bursts open and the adult
emerges.
It climbs up the nearest vegetation and expands its wings by
pumping blood through the veins. When the wings have expanded and its skin is hard, the
adult flies off to find its first meal and a mate.
Above: The Apollo's wings are covered
in thousands of tiny, colored scales, giving them a shimmering quality. |
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FOOD & FEEDING
Because the Apollo caterpillar feeds on the leaves of herbaceous Sedum
plants known as stonecrops, the adult female butterfly lays her eggs on these plants.
After eating its way out of its shell, the caterpillar devours the plant leaves using its
powerful jaws.
The caterpillar must consume many leaves to get
the nutrition it needs to grow rapidly in its larval stages and to sustain it during the
pupal stage, while it changes into an adult. It stops eating when it is ready to pupate
and does not eat again until it emerges as an adult.
The adult Apollo butterfly has a long, thin sucking
tube called a proboscis, which functions as a drinking straw. The butterfly uses
this mouthpart to probe delicately into flowers and suck the energy-rich nectar from the
base of the petals. It shows a strong preference for the flowers of thistles.
KEY FACTS
Coloration: Creamy wings with
black and red or yellow patches. Furry gray thorax and abdomen.
Wings: 2 overlapping pairs. Wingspan:
2-4 in. Male smaller than female.
Breeding season: July to August. Eggs: White.
Several hundred, laid singly or in groups.
Egg to pupa: 1 month.
Pupa to adult: 2 months.
Diet: Caterpillar eats leaves of herbaceous
plants. Butterfly sucks dew and wildflower nectar.
Lifespan: A few weeks as an adult butterfly.
The
dramatic coloring of the Apollo butterfly makes it one of the best-loved butterflies in
Europe. But this beautiful creature is becoming increasingly rare throughout its range
because changes in land use are destroying its habitat. The Apollo butterfly is now
classified as endangered and is protected by law in many countries. |
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| Did You Know?
There are many varieties of Apollo butterfly, including an unusual
dark form that is found in the Alps.
The swallowtails are close relatives of the Apollo. These mostly
tropical butterflies are among the most beautiful in the world.
The bright red and yellow eyespots on the wings help protect the
Apollo from attack, especially by birds. By making the wing look like the big head of some
other animal, the eyespots may scare the bird away. In any case they direct attacks away
from the Apollo's vulnerable and easily damaged body. |
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