Parnassius apollo (Linnaeus, 1758) - Apollo.

A spider has captured in its cobweb no other than the Apollo itself! (Not artificially!!)

An internationally protected species (details are not too familiar to me). It is sriously endangered in Europe and the lowland West Siberia, in the mountains of Asia still seems to flourish.

Range: Europe, Anterior Asia, Iran, Caucasus, the southern Siberia east to Central Yakutia and Transbaikalia, the mountains of E Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Tien Shan.

ssp.: merzbacheri Fruhstorfer, 1906; range: the mountains of Central Asia.

A male, wings open.

A meadowy southern slope of the Tyshkan River valley, altitude of 2400 m, 38 km NEN of Zharkent, 13 km NEN of Sarybel', massif Tyshkantau, the Southern Dzhungarian Alatau mountain chain (NE part of Tien Shan), Zharkent District, Taldy-Kurgan region, SE Kazakhstan. 24th of July 1994. O. Kosterin.