Apollo silk butterfly Lepidoptera. It is one of the most precious butterflies in the Chinese butterfly. The wings of the silk butterfly are mixed and rounded; the wings are transparent in five colors; they are like silk silk, hence the name. The wing surface is often covered with black, red, and blue spots or markings. It is elegant and hardy, and often lives on and off the snow line; the larval hosts are mostly sedum plants. Apollo silk butterflies are only distributed in Xinjiang in China. The butterfly is rare in number and is protected by organizations around the world.
Apollo silk butterfly
Silk butterflies are loved for their beauty and elegance. The wings are white or slightly yellowish, translucent, with several large black spots on the forewings and 2 large and distinct red spots on the hindwings, with the center of the red spots white and the red spots surrounded by black edges, which adds to the delicacy.
Morphological characteristics
Wingspan 79 – 92mm. The wings are white or yellowish white. semitransparent. There are large black spots in the middle and end of the forewings, 2 black spots in the middle of the middle of the middle and outer parts of the middle, some black brown on the outer edge, an irregular black brown band on the sub-outer edge, and 1 black spot in the middle of the posterior margin. The base and medial base of the hindwing are black; the leading edge and the middle of the wing are each 1 erythema, sometimes with a white heart, surrounded by black edges; there are 2 red spots or 1 red and 1 black spot on the hip horns and medial sides, which are surrounded by black edges; and the subfectal black band is broken into 6 black spots. The reverse side of the wing is similar to the front , but there are 4 red spots with black edges at the base of the wings , and 2 rump spots are also red spots with black edges. Females are darker in color, with translucent bands on the outer margin of the forewings and subfectorial black bands wider and more pronounced than males, and erythema on the hindwings larger and brighter than in males.
Habits of life
Silk butterflies live in high mountains and have strong hardiness, some move on the snow line, fly close to the ground when flying, and fly slowly as if they are enjoying the snow.