Papilio alexanor maccabaeus
A large conspicuous tailed butterfly, one of the less common swallowtails, a deeper yellow with single wide black markings (not paired like in the pear-tree), and a wingspan of 62-70 mm, the females being slightly larger. Also called the “southern swallowtail,” this species lives in a wide variety of habitats, such as warm dry scrub, thickets, pastures, open woodland, stony hillsides, and steep stony slopes. Host plants are mainly umbellifers like giant-fennels (Ferula spp.) and saxifrages (Pimpinella spp.). It flies April through August, high up in the air, seemingly non-stopping, and making much use of the wind. The tiger is considered endangered in the region.
Attribution: Albert Vliegenthart (Wikipedia Creative Commons)
