Bird, bug, butterfly and a wild variety of photos from Belarus, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scotland and Spain by Irish wildlife photographer Patrick J. O'Keeffe and invited guests

Showing posts with label Zerynthia (Allancastria) cretica. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zerynthia (Allancastria) cretica. Show all posts

Monday 2 May 2016

CRETAN FESTOON BUTTERFLY (Zerynthia (Allancastria) cretica) male at Cape Kutri, Phalasarna, Crete, Greece

CLICK ON PHOTO TO SEE HIGHER QUALITY IMAGE
Click external link here for detailed species information 

The Cretan Festoon Butterfly (Zerynthia (Allancastria) cretica) is an Old World swallowtail butterfly of the family Papilionidae which is in the genus Allancastria. This endemic species is found only on the Greek island of Crete but some authorities consider it to be a subspecies of the Eastern Festoon (Allancastria cerisyi) and give it the scientific name (Allancastria cerisyi cretica).  
Having overwintered as a chrysalis, the butterfly emerges from mid-March. The flight season can extend into early June. Eggs are layed on Birthworts (Aristolochiae).Two species occur on Crete which are also the larval food plants, Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia sempervirens) and Cretan Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia cretica) which is endemic to Crete as well as Karpathos.
 
Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds