Animals
Moselle Apollo butterfly is “Butterfly of the Year”
A Moselle Apollo butterfly (male) on a knapweed. photo
© Gerd Heupel/BUND/dpa
The butterfly only occurs in the lower Moselle valley in Rhineland-Palatinate and lives on steep rocks and walls, surrounded by vineyards, according to the Association for the Environment and Nature Conservation. He is threatened.
The extremely rare Moselle Apollo butterfly is the ““Butterfly of the Year” 2024. By choosing this subspecies of the Apollo butterfly, environmentalists and lepidopterists are pointing out its serious threat, as the Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation announced.
The butterfly only occurs in the lower Moselle valley in Rhineland-Palatinate and lives on steep rocks and walls, surrounded by vineyards. The number of butterflies has been declining massively since 2012. In this context, environmentalists particularly criticize the use of pesticides in conventional wine growing. The butterfly with white wings with black and red spots is said to be one of the largest butterflies in Germany.