Stubbendorf's Apollo is a white, semi-transparent butterfly of northern Asia, found across Siberia, Mongolia, northern China, and Korea. It belongs to the swallowtail family, even though it looks more like a cabbage white. It does not occur in the US, though western North America has its own relatives, such as the Clodius Parnassian.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Dull white wings with dark veins. The forewing has gray shading along the front edge, tip, and outer margin, while the hindwing is nearly plain. Some females are darker.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Open taiga
- Mountain meadows
- Range
- From the Altai Mountains across Siberia and the Russian Far East, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands to Mongolia, northern China, and Korea. Butterflies on Hokkaido, Japan, are counted here by some experts and treated as a separate species by others. Not found in the US.
- Preferred conditions
- Open areas in the northern conifer forest belt and in mountains up to the subalpine zone, about 3,300–6,600 ft (1,000–2,000 m).
Behavior
- Activity
- One flight a year, in May and June, or June and July at high elevations.
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- After mating, the male seals the female's abdomen with a hardened whitish plug, so she cannot mate again.
- Larva
- Young caterpillars are black with pale yellow side stripes. Full-grown ones turn light reddish brown with two pale yellow stripes, and they hide during the day.
- Caterpillar food plants
- Caterpillars feed on Corydalis, including C. gigantea and C. ambigua.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
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