Zerynthia polyxena

Provence, France, April 2004, (f)

Kozani, Greece, May 2004, (f)

Orange yellow form ochracea only found in the female

Kozani, Greece, May 2004 (f)

Southern Festoon
Zerynthia polyxena

Distribution: SE France, Italy and eastwards to Slovakia and Greece covering all the Balkans. It is usually in some numbers when found.

Identification: Distinctive. There is only one other butterfly with similar extreme markings in Europe - the Spanish Festoon, Z. rumina. The ranges of the two species overlap in SE France. See identification section on the species page for Z. rumina.

Flight time: April to June in a single brood. Possibly earlier in some hot places.

Habitat: In the south and lower altitudes, hot dry places. In mountains and further from the coast, grassy herb rich meadows. I've found it once at around 1500m in Greece, but mostly it is below around 1000m. Larvae feed on Aristolochiae (Birthworts).

Behaviour: Flight is fairly direct and gliding but not strong. It flies low over the grass pausing to take nectar or rest occasionally. Very similar to the Spanish Festoon Z. rumina in flight but differs from most Pieridae which tend to flutter and fly erratically.

Additional notes: Until my visit to Greece in early May 2004 by far the most I've ever seen in one place was 8 in southern France. In May 2004 I found it commonly in lightly wooded areas and roadsides often in good numbers - 20 or 30 in a colony.