| Bailey's Apollo | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Papilionidae |
| Genus: | Parnassius |
| Species: | P. baileyi |
| Binomial name | |
|
Parnassius baileyi South, 1913 |
|
Parnassius baileyi, the Bailey's Apollo, is a high-altitude butterfly which is found in southwestern China (Sichuan, northern Yunnan and eastern Tibet). It is a member of the snow Apollo genus (Parnassius) of the swallowtail family (Papilionidae).
The taxonomic status of this butterfly is uncertain. P. baileyi was originally described as a subspecies of P. acco, later as a subspecies of P. rothschildianus Bryk, 1931 and also P. przewalskii (Alpherakyi 1887), and now also treated as a separate species (Weiss 1992), (Chou, 1994). Molecular studies suggest it is the sister species of P. acco.
The butterfly was named for Frederick Marshman Bailey who collected the first specimens.