The Mountain Apollo

Parnassius apollo pyrenaicus – Papilionidae – Parnassius

The Apollo’s mating plug or Sphragis is visible on the photo below: It is particular to the females of this lepidoptera family.It is deposited by a male into the female genital tract and later hardens into a plug assuring the male that only his sperm cells will fertilize each visited female!

Apollon femelle et son sphragis – Le sphragis de la femelle est très visible sur la 1ère photo: C’est le ‘bouchon’ copulatoire de l’organe de la femelle particulier à cette famille de lépidoptères, ainsi qu’à de rares Nymphalidae: Il est déposé par le mâle dans l’oviducte de la femelle pendant la copulation puis se durcit ensuite pour obstruer ses organes génitaux, assurant ainsi au mâle que ses seuls spermatozoïdes féconderont chaque femelle visitée!

The female is easily recognisable by the few red spot at the wing base. La dame est très facile à identifier; contrairement au mâle, on peut lui voir quelques taches rouges près de la base de l’aile postérieure:

Here is male without the red dots near the body:

Noushka

Passionate about Nature and photography but mostly animals and birds. I live in France at the present, but have lived in Africa for 16 years and in the U.S. for 3 years and with Australia in mind for the future. With my husband, I created and managed a Bird Park in South Africa, raising mainly psittacines; the breeding facility housed over 1000 parrots at any given time. My photography is about sharing fauna's beauty with other enthusiasts! Equipment: NIKON lenses: 400 mm Z F4/5, 800 mm Z, 500 mm, 200/500 mm, 800 mm f5/6E

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