Introduction
Papilio machaon
We have a QR nearby. Follow the track until you find a gray plastic box (water point) on your left. Walk six meters further and on your right a passage opens into a clearing with a young oak tree in the middle. There is about 15 m between the track and the oak. The QR is on the back side of the tree trunk.
Open spaces with an abundance of flowers favor the presence of a wide variety of butterflies. There are several species that we can observe in these flowery banks from spring to autumn.
This fast-flying butterfly that spends the day from flower to flower is one of the most spectacular in Catalonia. Sometimes we can see her standing with her wings outstretched in the sun, resting between suctions of aniseed and fennel flowers.
The caterpillars feed mainly on carrot and fennel leaves. As a curiosity it should be said that the caterpillar of the queen butterfly has developed resistance to the toxicity of the rue, so that it has managed to feed on this toxic plant without having competition. This evolutionary phenomenon is known as antagonistic coevolution.