Fig. 141.—Papilio Alexanor.
The caterpillar of this species is large, smooth, and of a beautiful light green, with a transverse black band on each ring. These bands are sprinkled with orange spots. It lives on the fennel, carrot, and other Umbelliferæ. If teased, it thrusts from the first ring after the head a fleshy, orange-coloured tentacle. The chrysalis, attached to a stalk of grass, is sometimes light green, sometimes greyish.
In the low Alps, on the plains near the environs of Digne and Barcelonette, is found in the months of May and July the Papilio Alexanor ([Fig. 141]), and in Corsica and Sardinia is found the Papilio hospiton, a rare species, nearly related to our swallow-tailed butterfly, but which we will here content ourselves with mentioning.
Fig. 142.—The scarce Swallow-tailed Butterfly (Papilio podalirius).
The Papilio podalirius ([Fig. 142]) is in form very analogous to Papilio machaon. It is of a rather pale yellow colour, marked with black, as if singed. The lower wings have tails longer and narrower than those of the latter, and are magnificently ornamented with blue crescent-shaped spots and an orange-coloured eye bordered below with blue. This beautiful species is not rare at Montmorency, at Ile-Adam, and at St. Germain. It is said to have been taken in England, and is called the scarce Swallow-tail, but its capture is considered as very questionable. It appears for the first time at the end of April, and for the second in July and August. The Parnassius Apollo ([Fig. 143]), is a beautiful butterfly, which appears in June and July, and is found commonly enough in the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the Cévennes. Its wings are of a yellowish white. The upper part of the fore wings presents five nearly round black spots; the base and the costa, or front edge, of these wings are sprinkled with black atoms. The upper part of the hind wings presents two eyes of a vermilion red, the inner border furnished with whitish hairs amply dotted with black, and marked towards the extremity with two black spots. The under part of the fore wings is very similar to the upper. But the under part of the hind wings presents four red spots bordered by black, forming a transverse band near the base. The body is black, furnished with russety hairs, and the antennæ white, with the club black.
