Banded Alder Borer vs Southern Festoon

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Banded Alder Borer Southern Festoon
Scientific Name Rosalia funebris Zerynthia polyxena
Order Coleoptera Lepidoptera
Family Cerambycidae Papilionidae
Size 25-38mm 46-56 mm wingspan
Habitat Woodlands Heathland
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions North America Southern and eastern Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern (protected in many countries)

Banded Alder Borer

A striking longhorn beetle with bold black and white banding and long banded antennae. It breeds in dead alder and other hardwood trees.

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Did You Know?

It is the North American counterpart of the famous European Rosalia alpina and equally beautiful but less endangered.

Southern Festoon

A strikingly patterned butterfly with yellow wings marked with black zigzags and red spots. It is one of Europe's earliest spring butterflies and resembles a small, ornate kite.

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Did You Know?

Its larvae sequester toxic aristolochic acids from their food plant, making all life stages unpalatable to birds.