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Mountain Apollo Butterfly

Mountain Apollo Butterfly line art illustration (click image to enlarge)

Mountain Apollo Butterfly full color illustration (click image to enlarge)

Artist's notes:

The Mountain Apollo Butterfly was completed on 12.15.2011. The drawing was commissioned by a private client in Australia. As with many of the species of butterflies, I was unfamiliar with this resident of the mountains of Europe. It is a lovely butterfly and the first one I've drawn with the distinctive clear wings I've seen on other species. The drawing is based on a photo by Flickr member Juli AR

Information about the Mountain Apollo Butterfly:

The Mountain Apollo Butterfly is a vulnerable insect native to the high alpine mountains of Europe, usually above 3,300 feet (1000 meters) There are several subspecies of this butterfly, sometime having small ranges in only one or a few mountain valleys. The species has endured many threats, such as over collecting by humans, although development of mountainous regions, disease and climate change are more likely the to have caused the drastic population drop of this butterfly. In order to help stabilize the population, many European governments have enacted laws to protect them, such as limits on collecting. Other conservation efforts include the protection of their environment, such as in Germany where conservationists have worked with sheep herders to help avoid the animals trampling the areas where the butterfly's larvae live.