Dusted Apollo (Parnassius stenosemus) has been sighted and photographed for the first time in Himachal Pradesh.
The butterfly was sighted and photographed in September 2023, during a trek to Manimahesh Lake in Chamba by the forest guards.
Key points
- It is a rare high-altitude butterfly. The distribution range of Dusted Apollo extends from Ladakh to West Nepal and it flies between 3,500 to 4,800 meters in the inner Himalayas.
- Dusted Apollo is extremely rare and has never been photographed before in Himachal Pradesh.
- The Dusted Apollo species closely resembles Ladakh Banded Apollo (Parnnasius stoliczkanus).
- Another rare species Regal Apollo (Parnnasius charltonius) was also photographed at Manimahesh, which is protected under Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
- Apollos are considered commercially important butterflies and they fetch high prices in the poaching industry.
- There are 11 Apollo species recorded from Himachal Pradesh and five of them are declared as Scheduled species.
