This lifeform is found in Asia Minor.

Eurasian Parnassius and related genera reach their zenith of development in northern China and northern India.  

The group is listed here in alphabetical sequence by species within genus. The "Guide to the Genera and Species of Parnassiinae," a Bulletin published in London by the British Museum, has been used as a reference to create a list of forty-four known species.  

Many of the forms in this group should no doubt be raised to full species status as research continues with new forms being discovered yearly. As Luehdorfia chinensis and Luehdorfia longicaudata likely fall into this latter group they have been included in this list (an * indicates that this species is pictured):

   SPECIES                     LOCATION

   Archon appolinus            Rumania to Iraq
   Bhutanitis lidderdalii      North India to north Siam
   Bhutanitis ludlowi          Bhutan
   Bhutanitis mansfieldi       China, Yunnan
   Bhutanitis thaidina         China, Yunnan, Szechwan
   Cressida cressida           Australia and nearby
   Hypermnestra  helios        Iran, Afghanistan  
   Luehdorfia puziloi          East Asia, Korea, Japan
   Luehdorfia japonica         Japan, China
   Luehdorfia longicaudata     China
   Luehdorfia chinensis        China

   Parnassius acdestes         USSR, China
   Parnassius acco             Tibet, Sikkim
   Parnassius actius           Afghanistan to China
   Parnassius apollonius       USSR, China
   Parnassius apollo           Sweden, Europe to China
   Parnassius ariadne          USSR, Mongolia
   Parnassius autocrator       Afghanistan, USSR
   Parnassius bremeri          China, Korea
   Parnassius cephalus         Tibet, China

   Parnassius charitonius      Afghan, Tibet, north India
   Parnassius delphius         Afghan. USSR, China, Tibet  
   Parnassius epahus           Afghanistan, north India, China
   Parnassius eversmanni       Circumpolar
   Parnassius jacquemonti      Afghanistan, USSR
   Parnassius glacialis        Japan, China
   Parnassius hardwicki        North India, Nepal
   Parnassius honrathi         Afghanistan, USSR
   Parnassius imperator        China, Tibet

   Parnassius inopinatus       Afghanistan
   Parnassius loxias           USSR, China
   Parnassius mnemosyne        North Europe to Iraq, Iran
   Parnassius nomion           Mongolia, USSR, China
   Parnassius nordmanni        USSR
   Parnassius orleans          Mongolia, China
   Parnassius patricius        USSR
   Parnassius phoebis          Europe, N. America, USSR, etcetera
   Parnassius simo             USSR, India, China, Tibet
   Parnassius stubbendorfi     USSR, Japan
   Parnassius szechenyii       Tibet, China
   Parnassius tianschanicus    USSR. Afghanistan
   Parnassius tenedius         USSR, Mongolia, China
   Sericinus montela           China, Korea
   Zerynthia cerisy            Rumania, Iran, Iraq
   Zerynthia polyxena          France, Italy, Greece, etcetera
   Zerynthia rumina            South France, Spain, Portugal

Note:
Because Cressida cressida is not easily classified it is arbitrarily included here even though it probably does not belong in the Parnassian group. This makes a total of 45 butterflies in the group.

Parnassius clodius, found in both the Old and New World groups is listed in the North American group.

Family Papilionidae (Swallowtails), Papilio family, contains about five hundred and fifty different species with perhaps a new species still being discovered every two or three years. Many species are sexually dimorphic in that the females do not look like the males. A common example of this is the Tiger Swallowtail of North America where the males are always yellow and black and the females can be either yellow and black or occasionally a blue color.

Swallowtails are usually medium to large species and strong fliers. They are unusual in that the adults have six fully developed legs. Many newer families of butterflies have only four well-developed legs with the front two legs being very underdeveloped.

Butterfly scientists are attracted to this group, and high prices are paid for the largest and the rarest kinds. Most of the species are bred locally on a hobby-business basis to fill the demand.

The Queen Alexander might be extinct. Although this species has been protected, the damage seems to have been done by land clearing projects which took away its natural habitat. The number of specimens in collections seems to be so small that collectors cannot be blamed for this extinction. There are probably less than ten collections in the United States that have over five hundred different species of Papilionidae.

Butterflies and Moths (Order Lepidoptera) are a group of insects with four large wings. They go through various life cycles including eggs, caterpillar (larvae), pupae, and adult. Most butterflies and moths feed as adults, but primarily do most of their growing in the larval or caterpillar stage. Also, most species are restricted to feeding as caterpillars upon a unique set of plants. In this pairing of insects to plants, there arises a unique plant population control system. When one plant species becomes too common, specific pests to that species also become more common and thus prevent the further spreading of that particular plant species.

Although most people think of the Lepidoptera as two different groups: butterflies and moths, technically, the concept is not valid.

Some families, such as Silk Moths (Saturnidae) and Hawk Moths (Sphingidae), are clearly moths. Other families, such as Swallowtail Butterflies (Papilionidae), are clearly butterflies, However, several families exhibit characteristics that appear to be neither moths nor butterflies. For example: the Castnia Moths of South America are frequently placed in the Skipper Family (Hesperidae). The Sunset Moths (Uranidae) have long narrow antennae and fly during the day.

Note: Numerous museums and biologists have loaned specimens to be photographed for this project.

Insects (Class Insecta) are the most successful animals on Earth if success is measured by the number of species or the total number of living organisms. This class contains more than a million species, of which North America has approximately 100,000.

Insects have an exoskeleton. The body is divided into three parts. The foremost part, the head, usually bears two antennae. The middle part, the thorax, has six legs and usually four wings. The last part, the abdomen, is used for breathing and reproduction.

Although different taxonomists divide the insects differently, about thirty-five different orders are included in most of the systems.

The following abbreviated list identifies some common orders of the many different orders of insects discussed herein:

   Odonata:      Dragon and Damsel Flies
   Orthoptera:   Grasshoppers and Mantids
   Homoptera:    Cicadas and Misc. Hoppers
   Diptera:      Flies and Mosquitoes
   Hymenoptera:  Ants, Wasps, and Bees
   Lepidoptera:  Butterflies and Moths
   Coleoptera:   Beetles

Jointed Legged Animals (Phylum Arthropoda) make up the largest phylum. There are probably more than one million different species of arthropods known to science. It is also the most successful animal phylum in terms of the total number of living organisms.

Butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, various insects, spiders, and crabs are well-known arthropods.

The phylum is usually broken into the following five main classes:

   Arachnida:      Spiders and Scorpions
   Crustacea:      Crabs and Crayfish
   Chilopoda:      Centipedes
   Diplopoda:      Millipedes
   Insecta:        Insects

There are several other "rare" classes in the arthropods that should be mentioned. A more formal list is as follows:

   Sub Phylum Chelicerata

     C. Arachnida:      Spiders and scorpions
     C. Pycnogonida:    Sea spiders (500 species)
     C. Merostomata:    Mostly fossil species

   Sub Phylum Mandibulata

     C. Crustacea:      Crabs and crayfish
      
   Myriapod Group

     C. Chilopoda:      Centipedes
     C. Diplopoda:      Millipedes
     C. Pauropoda:      Tiny millipede-like
     C. Symphyla:       Garden centipedes

   Insect Group

     C. Insecta:        Insects

The above list does not include some extinct classes of Arthropods such as the Trilobites.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.