# Apollo (*Parnassius apollo*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/apollo  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The apollo (Parnassius apollo) is an insect in the butterflies and moths group, belonging to the family Papilionidae within the order Lepidoptera. It is also called the Mountain apollo, Apollo butterfly, or Apollo or crimson-ringed, and its scientific name authority is (Linnaeus, 1758). The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern (LC), which is not an IUCN threatened category. Checklists record it in Iran, where it is native, and Catalogue of Life lists it as living, not extinct.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 6.2 cm – 9.5 cm |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Main food | flowers |
| Habitat | grassland, rocky, shrubland |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| On the wing | May to September |
| Generations a year | Two |
| Larval food plants | Crassulaceae family |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | 1 country |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Arthropoda
- class: Insecta
- order: Lepidoptera
- family: Papilionidae
- genus: Parnassius
- species: *Parnassius apollo* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Papilio apollo*, *Parnassius apollo adzharensis*, *Parnassius apollo agyiens*, *Parnassius apollo andreashoferi*, *Parnassius apollo anneciensis*, *Parnassius apollo antiquus*, *Parnassius apollo apenninus*, *Parnassius apollo australis*, *Parnassius apollo bartholomaeus*, *Parnassius apollo bezauensis*, *Parnassius apollo bosniensis*, *Parnassius apollo braniskoi*, *Parnassius apollo buehleri*, *Parnassius apollo burjaticus*, *Parnassius apollo caloriferus*, *Parnassius apollo carinthicus*, *Parnassius apollo chetus*, *Parnassius apollo ciscaucasicus*, *Parnassius apollo cognatus*, *Parnassius apollo comes*, *Parnassius apollo confinis*, *Parnassius apollo debilis*, *Parnassius apollo eubohemicus*, *Parnassius apollo f. duplex*, *Parnassius apollo f. montana*, *Parnassius apollo fabrei*, *Parnassius apollo gadorensis*, *Parnassius apollo geminus*, *Parnassius apollo germainae*, *Parnassius apollo grajus*, *Parnassius apollo hahnei*, *Parnassius apollo kosswigi*, *Parnassius apollo leovigildus*, *Parnassius apollo lessei*, *Parnassius apollo limicola*, *Parnassius apollo manleyi*, *Parnassius apollo markerti*, *Parnassius apollo melliculus*, *Parnassius apollo merzbacheri*, *Parnassius apollo metaensis*, *Parnassius apollo navasi*, *Parnassius apollo nichollae*, *Parnassius apollo nivatus*, *Parnassius apollo oravensis*, *Parnassius apollo oulxensis*, *Parnassius apollo pandolfus*, *Parnassius apollo phrynius*, *Parnassius apollo posthumus*, *Parnassius apollo provincialis*, *Parnassius apollo pumilus*, *Parnassius apollo rachelii*, *Parnassius apollo rebelianus*, *Parnassius apollo regius*, *Parnassius apollo rhaeticus*, *Parnassius apollo rivalis*, *Parnassius apollo rubidus*, *Parnassius apollo saboianus*, *Parnassius apollo salevianus*, *Parnassius apollo sevensis*, *Parnassius apollo sicinius*, *Parnassius apollo substitutus*, *Parnassius apollo subvianus*, *Parnassius apollo tauricus*, *Parnassius apollo testoutensis*, *Parnassius apollo thessalicus*, *Parnassius apollo transiliensis*, *Parnassius apollo turatii*, *Parnassius apollo turatinus*, *Parnassius apollo valderiensis*, *Parnassius apollo valesiacus*, *Parnassius apollo var. alba*, *Parnassius apollo var. brittingeri*, *Parnassius apollo var. carpathicus*, *Parnassius apollo var. dubius*, *Parnassius apollo var. hoglandicus*, *Parnassius apollo var. laufferi*, *Parnassius apollo var. liburnicus*, *Parnassius apollo var. minerva*, *Parnassius apollo var. minor*, *Parnassius apollo var. sojoticus*, *Parnassius apollo var. suaneticus*, *Parnassius apollo var. transsylvanicus*, *Parnassius apollo venaissinus*, *Parnassius apollo ventidius*, *Parnassius apollo vercorcius*, *Parnassius apollo vicinus*, *Parnassius apollo victorialis*, *Parnassius apollo vilpiana*, *Parnassius apollo vinningensis*, *Parnassius apollo vistulicus*, *Parnassius apollo wiskotti*, *Parnassius apollo zelnyi*

## Countries on record

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

Iran

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the apollo?

The apollo is an insect in the butterflies and moths group. It belongs to the family Papilionidae in the order Lepidoptera.

### What is the scientific name of the apollo?

The scientific name of the apollo is Parnassius apollo, placed in the genus Parnassius.

### Is the apollo endangered?

No. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern (LC), which is not an IUCN threatened category.

### Which countries is the apollo recorded in?

Checklists record the apollo in Iran, where it is native.

### What other names does the apollo have?

The apollo is also called the Mountain apollo, Apollo butterfly, and Apollo or crimson-ringed.

### Is the apollo extinct?

No. Catalogue of Life lists the apollo as living, not extinct.

## Sources

- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19874602.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Shirey, V., Larsen, E., Doherty, A. et al. (2022) LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits. Scientific Data 9: 382. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01473-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19874602.v1
- [TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844), CC BY 4.0, 2.0. Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Apollo (Parnassius apollo). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/apollo