The Southern Festoon (Zerynthia polyxena)

The Southern Festoon (Zerynthia polyxena (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)), familly of Papilionidae, flies in the South of France, in a single generation from the end of March to the end of May. It favours mesophytic grasslands, banks of rivers or lakes, clearings, wet spots in the Garrigue and the edges of cultivated areas where small, much localized populations live. Very territorial, the male patrols energetically over its territory with a low and persistent flight or defend its territory from a perch in the low vegetation. In the South, its preferred plant is the Round-leaved Birthwort (Aristolochia rotunda) which has round leaves fixed directly to the stem and has tubular flowers. Once fertilized, and without delay, the female lays her eggs on both sides of the leaves of the host plant. The egg incubates for between 10 and 14 days and the first eggs hatch roughly the same time as flowering commences. The just hatched caterpillar goes in search of a Round-leaved Birthwort flower in which to shelter and feed on from inside. It will stay there, well hidden until its first moult. At its 2nd instar, it attacks the flap of the flower and consumes it almost entirely. The mature caterpillar moves towards a dense tuft of grass, in which it weaves a loose silken net. At the end of three days, the metamorphosis begins. For the first time is filmed how, the chrysalis squirms vigorously and moves the silken belt to its hooked-brush on the tip of its head. A second round follows, joining the two silken threads, thus securing the chrysalis to its twig. This behavior of the chrysalis is only known from the genus Zerynthia. The next spring the butterfly emerges. Although the Southern Festoon is on the red list of protected butterflies in France, the wild places where the life cycle of this butterfly takes place are not, and unfortunately in the Midi their habitat is endangered and declining every year. It is essential to preserve habitats of the Round-leaved Birthwort in our beautiful Provencal countryside to protect the offspring of this exotic looking iconic butterfly. For more information visit our website Filming VarWild http://www.filming-varwild.com/a-poly... http://www.filming-varwild.com/