Varnished Apollo Parnassius acco is a high altitude butterfly which is found in Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

. It is a member of the Snow Apollo genus Parnassius

Parnassius

Parnassius is a genus of northern circumpolar and montane butterflies usually known as Apollos. They can vary in colour and form significantly based on their altitude. They also show an adaptation to high altitudes called altitudinal melanism...

of the Swallowtail (Papilionidae) family.

Description

Upperside: dull greyish white. Fore wing: costal margin and base with an irroration of black scales, the white scaling clearest and most dense in the cell, this last crossed by a medial and an apical short, broad, transverse jet-black band; beyond apex of cell an irregularly sinuous dusky-black discal band that, usually extends from costa to vein 3, but in some specimens right up to the dorsal margin, in most it bears an anterior crimson spot; this is followed by less irregular and, in most specimens, slightly broader postdiscal and terminal similar transverse bands and a pre-ciliary slender continuous line on termen and dorsum. Hind wing: dorsal half of the wing dusky black, the outer or upper margin of this colour, irregularly indented; a discal, a subcostal and a basal black-encircled spot that varies in colour from crimson to pinkish yellow, followed by a subterminal series of black lunular spots and a narrow terminal band, crossed and interrupted by the white veining. Cilia of both wings conspicuously white. Underside with a glassy appearance. Forewing nearly as on the upperside, but the black markings, except the two bars across the cell, only seen through by transparency from the upperside. Hind wing : ground-colour white, the discal, costal, and basal pink or crimson spots also apparently transparency only from the upperside; a discal double ill-defined series of black lunular markings, followed by a subterminal series of similar markings like those on the upperside, but of a duller black and less clearly defined. Antennae dull brownish black, with a more or less copious covering of scattered white scales; abdomen black, clothed with somewhat sparse, long, fine white hairs.

Status

Very rare. Inadequately known. More information is needed from the Indian highlands and Tibet. The subspecies P. a. geminifer is protected by law in India.

See also

• Papilionidae
• List of butterflies of India
• List of Butterflies of India (Papilionidae)

Other references

• Evans, W.H., (1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies (2nd Ed), Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India
• Haribal, Meena., (1992) The Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya.Sikkim Nature Conservation Foundation, Gangtok
• Sakai S., Inaoka S., Toshiaki A., Yamaguchi S., Watanabe Y., (2002) The Parnassiology. The Parnassius Butterflies, A Study in Evolution, Kodansha, Japan. ISBN 4-06-124051-X
• Weiss, J.-C., (1992) Parnassiinae of the World - Part 2, Sciences Nat
  Sciences Nat
  Sciences Nat was the academic publisher specialising in entomology of the Societé Sciences Nat. The society was established in 1971 and based in the rue de la Mare in Paris. Three years later it moved to the rue des Alouettes and later to Venette near Compiègne...
  
  , Venette
  Venette
  Venette is a village in northern France, close to Compiègne. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River. Its inhabitants are called Venettiens. There are about 2800 inhabitants ....
  
  , France. ISBN 0953224023

External links

• Images
• NRM Holotype
  Holotype
  A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
  
   of Parnassius acco baileyi South, 1913 baileyi is also regarded as a species Parnassius baileyi
  Parnassius baileyi
  Bailey's Apollo Parnassius baileyi is a high altitude butterfly which is found in S.W. China and Eastern Tibet. It is a member of the Snow Apollo genus Parnassius of the Swallowtail family....
  
  .