The Snow Butterfly of the Mountains World-wide in distribution, the genus Parnassius (family Papilionidae) numbers to about fifty species with three in North America. They are commonly known as a Rocky Mountain Parnassian, Rocky Mountain Apollo, or the Snow Butterfly of the Mountains since it is found in elevations up to snow levels throughout the United States and Canada. Its wing patterns and colorations vary widely between the species and between sexes in the numbers of yellow-centered red spots.
