Rocky Mountain Parnassian

bugman

January 13th, 2008 at 1:00 am

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phoebus parnassian?
Is Attachment 1 a sooty azure? So appreciate your help.
Rose

Hi Rose,
This is a Parnassian, but we are not certain what species. The Parnassians are found in both the mountainous areas of Western North America and Eurasia where they are called Apollos. The local populations of various species have much variablity and the same species might look quite different on neighboring mountains. With that said, you gave us no information. Your email is quite confusing. Did you also send a photo you believe to be a Sooty Azure? You did have Parnassian correct on the subject line. Where was the photo taken? Since collectors are rabid for the Parnassians, you don’t need to give us an exact location, but a general vicinity would be nice.

Follow-up on parnassian. The photo was taken in 1977 between Denver and Colorado Springs in the woods along County Line Road — a long time ago. From the web site “Moths & Butterflies” by Montana State Univ, I thought it might be a Sooty Azure. Thank you for verifying it as a Phoebus parnassian. I’m so grateful to my 4-year-old neighbor for referring me to your site, and thanks so much.
Rose

Update: (01/15/2008)
Hello Daniel:
Regarding: Parnassian (01/13/2008) phoebus parnassian?
More follow-up on the Colorado Parnassian. The pictured butterfly likely is a Phoebus Parnassian, at least it would have been when the photo was taken. The parnassians, like many other butterfly groups, have been subject to taxonomic revisions in recent years. Depending on where you are or what books you read, the “phoebus” of Colorado are now considered a subspecies (Parnassius phoebus smintheus) or a distinct species (P. smintheus). Either way it is now generally called the Rocky Mountain Parnassian or, in parts of Canada, the Smintheus Parnassian.
Karl