Wing span: 46–60 mm
Flight period of butterflies: in one generation from May to August
Larval host plants: species from the genus Corydalis (Corydalis)
The Black Apollo (Parnassius mnemosyne) is a rather large butterfly. Its white wings with the distinctive black pattern have a transparent band along the outer edge of the forewings, which is wider in females than in males. On this part its wings are transparent, because there are no developed wing scales here that carry pigment and form the characteristic patterns on butterfly wings.
In our country, the Black Apollo is quite rare and locally present. It is found mainly in the mid-mountain region. It flies through sunlit forests, clearings, and along forest edges, where its larval host plants grow; on flowering meadows and shrub-covered slopes, adults, in search of sweet nectar, fly from flower to flower.
In Slovenia the species is protected and listed as a vulnerable species on the Red List of butterflies. It is also recognised in the European Union as a species requiring strict protection; it is one of the Natura 2000 species.
