Parnassius nomion, the Nomion Apollo, is a forest steppe butterfly which is found in the Urals, Altai, south Siberia, Amur and the Ussuri region, Mongolia, China and Korea. It is a member of the snow Apollo genus (Parnassius) of the swallowtail family (Papilionidae).
Populations vary throughout its range and there are very many described subspecies. The adult flies from July to mid-August and the larvae feed on Sedum and Orostachys (Crassulaceae).
Description Similar to Parnassius apollo geminus but differs in the vitreous marginal band of the forewing being broken up into elongate arched spots or lunules, and in the hindwing bearing dark marginal and more sharply marked submarginal spots, the latter being developed to large vitreous half moons, especially on the underside. The hindwing above usually with red basal spot, the whole surface of the wing above with a peculiar silky and below a greasy gloss. The female is darker, more conspicuously marked. Shaft of antenna whitish, club black, abdomen whitish, except a small dorsal portion. In specimens which agree with the figure of the name-type the costal and hind-marginal spots of the forewing are heavily centred with red. If specimens in which only the hind-marginal spot is centred red, while all the other spots of the forewing are black, should be considered worth a name venusi Schauf.Stichel in Seitz, 1906 (Parnassius). Die Groß-Schmetterlinge der Erde. Die Groß-Schmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes. Die palaearktischen Tagfalter, Stuttgart.
Subspecies Parnassius nomion nomion Parnassius nomion aurora O. Bang-Haas, 1933 Parnassius nomion davidis Oberthür, 1879 Parnassius nomion dis Grum-Grshimailo, 1890Groum-Grshimaïlo, G. (1890) Le Pamir et sa faune lépidoptèrologique., Groum-Grshimaïlo, G. (1890) Le Pamir et sa faune lépidoptèrologique. Mémoires sur les Lépidoptères 4: vii+577 pp, 22 pls. Parnassius nomion gabrieli Bryk Parnassius nomion korshunovi Kreuzberg & Pljushch, 1992 Parnassius nomion mandschuriae Oberthür, 1891 Parnassius nomion minschani Bryk-Eisne Parnassius nomion nominulus Staudinger, 1895 Parnassius nomion nomius Grum-Grshimailo, 1891Grum-Grshimaïlo, G. (1891) Lepidoptera nova in Asia Centrali novissime lecta et descripta., Grum-Grshimaïlo, G. (1891) Lepidoptera nova in Asia Centrali novissime lecta et descripta. Trudy Russkago Entomologitsheskago Obshshestva - Horae Societatis Entomologicae Rossicae 25: 445-465. Parnassius nomion oberthuerianus Bryk Parnassius nomion richthofeni Bang-Haas Parnassius nomion shansiensis Eisner Parnassius nomion theagenes Fruhstorfer Parnassius nomion tsinlingensis Bryk & Eisner
References
Sakai S., Inaoka S., Toshiaki A., Yamaguchi S., Watanabe Y., (2002) The Parnassiology. The Parnassius Butterflies, A Study in Evolution, Kodansha, Japan. Guide to the Butterflies of Russia and adjacent territories Volume 1. Pensoft, Sofia - Moscow. 1997
Further reading sv:Parnassius nomion Swedish Wikipedia - further references and synonymy
External links Parnassius of the World - photos, range map and subspecies