The Spanish Festoon butterfly (Zerynthia rumina) is found throughout the Mediterranean area. It flies from April to June after hibernating as a chrysalis. It feeds on thyme, sage, Montpellier aphylla or nepeta shrubs and flowers.

The females lay their eggs on aristolochia (or birthwort), which grows sparsely in sunny, stony areas.

The existence of a subspecies called Thais Honnoratii in homage to S.J. Honnorat (a doctor, entomologist and philologist from Digne, who died in 1852), characterised by its extensive red spots, has attracted butterfly experts and enthusiats from all over Europe every springtime. This variety has not been seen since the early 1990s.

Nicknamed "the Pearl of the Lepidoptera of the Low-Alpes", the Spanish Festoon butterfly, which remains rare, can be found in the Saint Pancras massif as well as on the Butterfly Trail in the park of the museum walk, which is home to more than half of the butterflies of France in their natural environment.

To find out more, contact The Spanish Festoon Butterfly Association, ensuring expert knowledge and active protection of insects and their environments in the Southern Alps and Provence.