Trivia question for Jun-22-2011

Olivia and her bugs… Here is another trivia about an insect, complements of Olivia.  The body of these beauties are completely covered in hair which helps keep is warm in high altitudes.

It is found on mountains in Europe usually above 3,300 ft up to 6,600 ft, preferring flowery meadows and mountain pastures. This species is of interest to entomologists due to the variety of subspecies, often only restricted to a specific valley in the Alps.

So here are Olivia’s questions:  Tell us what this invertebrate is and tell us what the exoskeleton of these insects is called.  Also, this insect is listed a “Vulnerable” by the IUCN (World Conservation Union).  Tell us what the main reason is for giving them that status?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Wow, Olivia obviously picked a good one.  No one was able to correctly identify the butterfly we featured.  The Apollo or Mountain Apollo, is a butterfly of the Papilionidae family.  Since they have no internal skeleton, all of their organs are enclosed by an external framework made of hard chitin, called an exoskeleton.

These guys are listed as ‘Threatened’ mainly due to the fact that they are so frequently caught and killed by collectors. In Finland, the Apollo was one of the first species of insects declared endangered. The Apollo population in Finland and Sweden decreased drastically during the 1950s. The reason for this is not known, but it is commonly thought to be because of a disease. In Sweden it is since restricted to areas that have limestone in the ground, suggesting that the decrease could hypothetically be related to acid rain.  Here is more on these colorful specimens: Apollo Butterfly

Thanks for playing along 😉