Japanese Clouded Apollo

A swallowtail butterfly with translucent wings.

Scientific name	Parnassius citrinarius
English name	Japanese Clouded Apollo
Japanese name	薄羽白蝶
Class	Insecta
Order	Lepidoptera
Family	Papilionidae
Genus	Parnassius
Species	citrinarius
Full length	25-35mm
Distribution	Distributed in East Asia, including Hokkaido, Honshu, and Shikoku in Japan.

Japanese Clouded Apollo Characteristics and Morphology

The body is black, with a slightly larger silhouette than the Pieridae (white butterflies).
Orange fur-like hairs grow around the head. The forewings are so thin as to be translucent, generally white with a transparent band towards the tips. The yellow of the flower can be seen through the translucent forewings.

Male

The male's wings are more transparent and appear whiter than the female's.

Female

The female's wings have more developed black spots and appear darker.

Japanese Clouded Apollo Ecology

Habitat

Found in low mountains and forests.

Food

Adults feed on flower nectar. The larvae feed on plants of the Papaveraceae (poppy) family.

Life Cycle

Adults emerge around May (also observed at the end of April). They create cocoons when pupating. They emerge all at once.

Japanese Clouded Apollo Photos

Japanese Clouded Apollo Photos are introduced.
Tap the photo to open the detail page.

The color of the flower can be seen through the translucent wings.

Japanese Clouded Apollo Behavior

The flight speed is not very fast, and they fly fluttering. They flit from flower to flower while feeding on nectar.

Japanese Clouded Apollo Information

Naming

Also known as "Usuba-ageha". The scientific name "citrinarius" means "lemon-colored" and comes from the yellow hairs growing on the thorax and abdomen.

Japanese Clouded Apollo Found Locations

Kamikawa-machi, Hachiōji

At the end of April, adults were photographed flying around the edge of a forest in Kamikawa-machi, Hachiōji. They seemed to have emerged all at once, and only Parnassius citrinarius were flying around. They were flitting from flower to flower while feeding on nectar. When they stopped on a dandelion, the yellow of the flower could be seen through their translucent forewings.