Palaearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
Th ...
butterflies
Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
in the subfamily Parnassiinae. Traditionally, only two species have been recognized: ''
Archon apollinus
''Archon apollinus'', the false Apollo, is a species of butterfly belonging to the Parnassinae subfamily.
The species is found in Central and Eastern Europe and West Asia. They are found in Greece, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon ...
'' and '' Archon apollinaris''. Recent studies, however, have given specific status to a third taxon, '' Archon bostanchii'', and suggested that further subspecies could warrant recognition as species.
Taxonomy
The genus consists of the following species:
Food plants
Species from this genus feed on ''
Aristolochia
''Aristolochia'' () is a large plant genus with over 500 species that is the type genus of the family Aristolochiaceae. Its members are commonly known as birthwort, pipevine or Dutchman's pipe and are widespread and occur in the most diverse clim ...