An Apollo (Parnassius apollo), in the family of swallowtails, on a field scabious (Knautia arvensis).
It has been one of those rare butterflies that I've hard of but never thought I would see. But after hearing about some spots where they exist, close to where we would go on a road trip in Telemark county this summer, we went to look for them.
The first evening, only Richard found one when I was looking too far away to hear him. But luckily I found this one after looking for a while the next morning, before we had to continue the road trip. We both got many nice photos and videos of it on different flowers.
It was larger, more transparent and even more special than I thought.
The Apollo used to be found over large parts of southern and eastern Norway. But changes towards more intensive agriculture and forestry between 1920 and 1970 made it disappear from parts of its former range, and it is now rare and is no longer found by the coast.
It is protected in Norway and all countries that are members of the Bern Convention.
This mountain butterfly species prefers hills and flowery alpine meadows, and pastures of the continental European mountains, in Spain, Scandinavia and Central Europe, in the Balkans up to northern Greece, and in the Alps between Italy and France. It is also present in some areas of central Asia.
(Apollosommerfugl (i svalestjertfamilien) på rødknapp, in Norwegian)
My album of insects here.
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