Allancastria cretica

Allancastria cretica
	Museum specimen. Crete.
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Papilionidae
Genus:	Allancastria
Species:	A. cretica
Binomial name
	Allancastria cretica; Rebel, 1904

Allancastria cretica is a butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae. It was described by Rebel in 1904. It is found only on the Greek island of Crete where it is, then, an endemic species. The taxon was originally described as a variation of Allancastria cerisyi, then treated as its subspecies.

The Allancastria cretica imago is a medium-sized ( 50–60 millimetres (2.0–2.4 in) long.,^[1] white to ochre-white butterfly with black markings, a line of submaginal scallops, and a few red dots on the hindwings. Seitz_-cretica Reb. (9e) occurs on Grete and some Greek islands; a sparsely marked form in which the three teeth of the hindwing mentioned above (A.cerisyi) are indicated only by black curved lines, the edge of the wing not being distinctly excised. Not so common as cerisyi.^[2]

It develops in one generation per year. Butterflies are found from March to June. In general, the flight time depends on the weather conditions and can be extended. At the beginning, males appear first, and the mass exit of females occurs 7–10 days later. For males, a search type of flight is typical, characteristic of other mountain representatives of the subfamily Parnassiinae. Females fly in search of food and food plants for laying eggs. Females after mating lay eggs one at a time, gluing them to the underside of the leaves. The larval foodplant is Aristolochia.

References

^ Lazaros N. Pamperis, Stavros K. Stavridis (2009). The butterflies of Greece. Editions Pamperis. p. 58. ISBN 9789609274012.0
^ 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) This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

Carbonell, F., 1996 Contribution à la connaissance du genre Allancastria Bryk (1934): Morphologie, biologie et écologie d’Allancastria cretica (Rebel, 1904) (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Linneana Belgica 15: 303-308.
Hürter, W., 2001. Ein Beitrag zur Biologie einiger Populationen des Zerynthia (Allancastria) Artenkreises in der östlichen Mediterraneis (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Entomologische Zeitschrift 111: 8-17.

External links

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[1] Lazaros N. Pamperis, Stavros K. Stavridis (2009). The butterflies of Greece. Editions Pamperis. p. 58. ISBN 9789609274012.0

[2] 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) This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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