They are found in Greece, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon, and like others of the family show considerable variation with four or five subspecies.

(= pythius Esp., thia Hubn) (10 c) is on the forewing rather densely pencilled transversely on a grey ground, the male being occasionally marked with a little red; hindwing chalky-white in fresh specimens, yellowish in worn ones, the dark border bearing reddish spots centred with blue.

krystallina Schilde (10 b) is on the contrary distinguished by sparsely scaled transparent wings bearing few markings, such individuals occurring everywhere among the ordinary form.

— In the North-East of Asia Minor, Goman Olti (Pontus, at an altitude of about 1500 m), and in Armenia a usually smaller, pale and in both sexes sparsely marked mountain-form occurs, which is moreover characterized by a reduced marginal band of the hindwing; this is apollinaris Stgr.

The larvae feed on species of Aristolochia including A. poecilantha, A. parviflora, A. bodamae, A. hirta, A. bottae, A. auricularia, A. rotunda, A. sempervirens, A. maurorum and A. billardieri.