Spanish Festoon

''Zerynthia rumina'', the Spanish festoon, is a butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae. It is a widespread species in Iberia and frequents most habitats.

Distribution

North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula and southern France.

Description

''Zerynthia rumina'' is an extremely striking species. In south east France it can be confused with the southern festoon ('' Zerynthia polyxena''). The two can be told apart by the presence of blue on the hindwing of the southern festoon. The Spanish festoon also has extensive red on the forewings.

Description in Seitz

T. rumina L. (10 a). At once distinguished from ''polyxena'' by the totally different underside of the hindwing, which bears whitish yellow spots at the base. Nearly all the costal spots of the forewing are marked with red. The 3 or 4 black parallel cell-bars of ''polyxena'' are in ''rumina'' enlarged, being separated by thin yellow bands. In Spain and Portugal, also in Morocco and Algiers, but occurring here only in the coast districts in a slightly different form (10 a). — In ab. ''canteneri'' Stgr. (10 a), which occurs singly among ordinary ''rumina'' in South Spain and Morocco, the ground-colour is dark yellow, almost orange, the transparent apical spot being therefore very prominent, appearing bright silvery. — ab. ''honnorati'' Boisd. (10a). is the name of a form in which the red colour is very much extended, the spots of the hindwing merging together to an often broad purple-band. This form occurs in South France, especially in the neighbourhood of Digne, but only very sparingly, the ordinary form of South France being ''medesicaste'' Ill. (10 a), in which the black spots of the forewing are mostly centred with red, while the red spots of the hindwing remain separate. — Also of these forms melanotic aberrations have been found, that of the Spanish ''rumina'' being named ''tristis'' Oberth., while the black form of the French ''medesicaste'' is ''hartmanni'' Stdfss. — In ab. ''paucipunctata'' Neub. all the red spots of the forewing are reduced, whUe in ab. ''alicea'' Neub. the third (reduced) black costal spot has no red centre. — Transitions from typical rumina to ''medesicaste'' are named ab. ''castiliana'', from Castilia. — Larva yellow, red, or blackish, with short pale stripes and yellowish red tubercles bearing black hairs; earh' summer, on Aristolochia. Pupa grey -brown, variegated with black. — The butterflies are on the wing in spring, in the South already in February, in North Spain late in March; they are found on sunny slopes and in vineyards, settling especially often on Asphodelus.
Seitz. A. in Seitz, A. ed. Band 1: Abt. 1, ''Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen Tagfalter'', 1909, 379 Seiten, mit 89 kolorierten Tafeln (3470 Figuren)

Zerynthia rumina MHNT CUT 2013 3 8 Male Dos Villegailhenc.jpg, Male
Zerynthia rumina MHNT CUT 2013 3 8 Male Ventre Villegailhenc.jpg, Male underside
Zerynthia rumina MHNT CUT 2013 3 8 female Dos Villegailhenc.jpg, Female
Zerynthia rumina MHNT CUT 2013 3 8 Female Ventre Villegailhenc.jpg, Female underside

ProserpineoeufsJLH.jpg, Eggs
Zerynthia rumina larva.png, Caterpillar
File:AlvorNRZernthiaRumina HabitatL1040174.jpg , Habitat, Algarve, Portugal

Flight period

The flight period is generally in April and May with the possibility of a very small second brood in September.

Synonymy

This species represents an extreme example of oversplitting.

*''rumina'' Linnaeus (=''andalusica'' Ribbe 1910) (south Spain: Andalusia).
**form ''tristis'' Verity
**form ''semitristis'' de Sagorra, 1930
**form ''xanthe'' Schultz, 1908 (''mackeri'' Holland, 1910)
**form ''rubistriga'' Bryk
**form ''honorathii'' Boisduval, 1832
**form ''ochracea'' Staudinger, 1861
**form ''medicaste'' Illiger
**form ''andalusica'' Ribbe, 1910
**form ''paucipunctata'' Neuburger
**form ''minusculus'' Eisner
**form ''lusitanica'' Bryk, 1932 (Portugal: Lisbon, Algarve, Sintra, Porto, Leça da Palmeira)
**form ''semitristis'' de Sagarra, 1930
**form ''paucipunctata'' Neuburger
**form ''ornatissima'' Blachier, 1908
**form ''nigricans'' Eisner
**form ''minusculus'' Eisner
**form ''aperta'' Eisner
**form ''divisa'' Schultz, 1908
**form ''canteneri'' Staudinger, 1861
*''ornatior'' Blachier, 1905 = ''africana'' (Stichel, 1907), = ''mauretanica'' Schultz, 1908 (Northern Africa: Algeria, Morocco: Tangier). The name ''ornatior'' is not the correct one for the northern African representative. ''canteneri'' (Heydenrich i.l.) Staudinger, 1861 (= ''canteneri'' Heyd. 1851, was originally applied to African populations and is the valid name, cf. Cajetan Felder and Rudolf Felder (1864), Rothschild (1917), ''canteneri'' is generally considered a European form but the type locality was fixed 'Algeria' by Cajetan and Rudolf Felder (l.c.) whereas Staudinger (1861) only, and apparently erroneously, referred the name to the Iberian form ''ochracea''. Manley and Allcard (1970) following Bryk (1934) referred to ''canteneri'' Staudinger as an orange aberration of both sexes which is frequent in Morocco but occasionally appears in warmer parts of south Spain.
**form ''irregularis'' Holland, 1912
**form ''distorta'' Rothschild, 1918
**form ''ornatissima'' Blachier, 1908
**form ''nebulosa'' Holland, 1912
**form ''xanthe'' Schultze, 1908
**form ''honorathii'' Boisduval, 1832
**form ''poujadei'' Thierry-Meg, 1910
**form ''canteneri'' Staudinger, 1861
**form ''nigricans'' Holland, 1912
**form ''minusculus'' Eisner
**form ''posteriorrubromarginalis'' Eisner
**form ''paucipunctata'' Neuburger

References

* Gil-T., F., 2008: The form ''canteneri'' Staudinger of ''Zerynthia rumina'' L., an interesting case of sex-linked inheritance: a study of its occurrence in captive-bred specimens and notes about other forms and aberrations (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). ISSN 0171-0079 , ''Atalanta'' 39 (1/4): 337-342, 421. Full article

External links

*

TOL



{{Taxonbar, from=Q957832

Zerynthia, Rumina
Butterflies described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Butterflies of Europe
Butterflies of Africa