10 Most Beautiful Butterflies In The World
4. Apollo Butterfly
The apollo butterfly is easily recognized by it’s attractive white body with eyesposts on the wings. The forewings of apollo butterflies have number of black eyespots and hindwings are decorated also decorated with striking four red eyespots. They are found in some specific areas in Italy, Spain and France. The size and brightness of red eyespots on the wings of apollo butterflies also varies by the location they belong to. Apollo butterflies are also one of the most threatened species of butterflies in Europe.
Besides beauty the apollo butterflies are known for their defensive strategy. The larvae form of apollo butterflies have deep dark color and they exhibit camouflage using the color. The adult butterflies can’t use the technique of camouflage because of their striking red eyespots. But they produce foul smell to threaten the predators.
Parnassius apollo has a wingspan of 62–86 millimetres in males, of 65–95 millimetres in females. The Apollo butterfly shows a great deal of individual variation in the appearance, with an evident colour polymorphism. These very very large, beautiful and conspicuous white butterflies are decorated with five large black eyespots on the forewing and two bright red or sometimes orange eyespots on the hindwing.
These striking red eyespots can vary in size and form depending on the location of the Apollo butterfly, and the bright red colour often fades in the sun, causing the eyespots of older individuals to appear more orange. The wings are shiny, with slightly transparent edges, and some individuals are darker; a general phenomenon common in many butterflies. The caterpillars of this species are velvety black with orange-red spots along the sides.