Allancastria cerisyi (Godart, 1824)

Introduction

The life history of A. cerisyi has been extensively studied and illustrated (Igarashi, 1984; Hensle, 1993 [Turkey]; Carbonell, 1996 [Turkey]; Pamparis, 1997 [Greece]; von Stetten, 2001 [Cyprus]; Hürter, 2001 [Rhodes Island and Turkey]). Higgins (1975) provided descriptions and drawings of genitalia for a specimen from Bulgaria. Crossbreeding experiments have been conducted between subspecies of A. cerisyi in the Balkan region (Sala and Bollino 1994) as well as between A. cerisyi and A. cretica (Hürter, 2001).

Geographical Distribution

Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine (Hesselbarth et al., 1995). Older records from the Caucasus Mountains, Iraq and Iran likely belong to A. caucasica or A. deyrollei (Nazari, 2003).

Geographical Variation

Hesselbarth et al. (1995) have synonymized the available names for many of the Turkish and Greek populations of A. cerisyi with the nominal subspecies, A. cerisyi cerisyi (Type locality: W of Izmir, Turkey). Some of these synonyms include A. c. martini Fruhstorfer, 1906 (Type locality: Rhodos Island), A. c. speciosa Stichel, 1907 (Type locality: Syria; Brussa, Turkey), A. c. cypria Stichel, 1907 (Type locality: Cyprus), A. c. mysiensis Eisner and Wagener, 1974 (Type locality: Turkey), A. c. koçaki Kuhna, 1977 (Type locality: NW Turkey), A. c. goeksui Kuhna, 1977 (Type locality: Turkey), A. c. koroneii Kattulas and Koutsaftikis, 1978 (Type locality: Greece), and A. c. sami Schmidt, 1989 (Type locality: Samos, Greece). Sala and Bollino (1997) retain the taxon A. c. martini as a valid subspecies. The Balkan populations have received several reviews (e.g. Sijaric and Mihljevic, 1972; Sala and Bollino, 1994) and many subspecific names have been proposed, including A. c. ferdinandi Stichel, 1907 (Type locality: Bulgaria), A. c. mihljevici Sijaric, 1989 (Type locality: Bosnia-Hercegovina), and A. c. dalmacijae Sala and Bollino, 1994 (Type locality: Makarska, Dalmatia, Croatia). The taxon A. c. huberi Sala and Bollino, 1994 (Type locality: Greece, Florina) is also often regarded as a valid subspecies in Greece (Pamparis, 1997). Among all of the above, A. c. cerisyi, A. c. ferdinandi, A. c. martini and A. c. cypria are the only subspecies that are well isolated from one another and are systematically identifiable.

Larval Food Plant

A number of Aristolochia species (Aristolochiaceae) have been recorded as larval food plants for Allancastria cerisyi. These are: A. clematitis (for European populations only) and A. macedonica in Balkan and Macedonia, A. parvifolia in Aegean and western Turkey, A. guichardii in the Island of Rhodes, A. sempervirens in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon; A. auricularia, A. brevilabris, A. billardieri, A. bodamae, A. cilicica, A. hirta, A. maurorum and A. pontica in Turkey (Sala and Bollino, 1994; Hesselbarth et al., 1995; Carbonell, 1996; von Stetten, 2001). The larva also tolerates A. longa, A. pistolochia, and A. rotunda under laboratory conditions (Carbonell, 1996; von Stetten, 2001).

References

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.

Eisner, C., Wagener, S., 1974. Parnassiiana nova XLVIII. Zwei neue Unterarten von Allancastria cerisyi Godart aus Anatolien (Lepidoptera: Parnassiinae). Zoologische Mededelingen 48: 81-83.

Hensle, J., 1993. Beobachtungen bei westanatolischen Osterluzeifaltern (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Nachrichten entomologische Vereins Apollo Frankfurt/Main, 14: 289-299.

Hesselbarth, G., van Oorschot, H., Wagener, S., 1995. Die Tagfalter der Türkei. 1. 754 pp. Bocholt, Selbstverlag Sigbert Wagener.

Higgins, L.G., 1975. The Classification of European Butterflies. London, Collins, 320 pp.

Hürter, W., 2001. Ein Beitrag zur Biologie einiger Populationen des Zerynthia (Allancastria) Artenkreises in der östlichen Mediterraneis (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Entomologische Zeitschrift 111: 8-17.

Igarashi, S., 1984. The classification of the Papilionidae mainly based on the morphology of their immature stages. Tyô to Ga 34: 41-96.

Kuhna, P., 1977. Über Allancastria in Kleinasien (Lep. Papilionidae). Atalanta (Würzburg) 8: 99-107.

Nazari, V., 2003. Butterflies of Iran. Dayereye-Sabz Publications, Tehran.

Pamperis, L.N., 1997. The Butterflies of Greece. Athens, Greece; Bastas-Plessas, 559 pp.

Sala, G., Bollino, M., 1994. Allancastria cerisyi Godart, 1822 in the Balkans: new subspecies and critical notes on the existing populations (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Atalanta (Würzburg) 25: 151-160, Plates II, III.

Sala, G., Bollino, M., 1997. A contribution to the knowledge of the Papilionidae of Kriti Island (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Atalanta (Würzburg) 28: 35-41.

Schmidt, E., 1989. Tagfalterbeobachtungen auf Samos. Entomologische Zeitschrift 99: 249-256.

Sijaric, R., Mihljevic, B., 1972. Nova nalazista nekih vrsta rhopalocera (Lepidoptera) na Balkanskom poluostrvu. Glasnik Zemaljskog muzeja u Bosni i Hercegovini, Prirodne nauke n.s. XI-XII: 203-207.

Sijaric, R., 1989. Taksonomska istrazivanja i nove podverste vrsta roda Zerynthia (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) na nekim podrucjima jugoslavije. Glasnik Zemaljskog muzeja u Bosni i Hercegovini (n.s.) 28: 1-240.

von Stetten, M., 2001. Beobachtungen zur Biologie von Zerynthia (Allancastria) cerisyi Godart, 1822, auf der Insel Zypern (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Entomologische Zeitschrift 111: 108-112.