Sierra Nevada Parnassian

This chapter examines the Sierra Nevada parnassian, a butterfly species which dwell nowhere else in the world but in the Range of Light. Despite their voracious appetites, the young parnassians cannot manage to consume quite enough calories during the short, high elevation summer to reach full maturation. Upon shedding its chrysalis, the adult Sierra Nevada parnassian bears a leonine ruff and a fuzzy coat of fur flocking the entirety of its black body. The striking designs of the parnassian's wings warn predators they had better think twice, lest they get a bitter mouthful of poison. In the Sierra fellfields, the parnassian does two things we all must do: it finds the nutrition it needs in the place where it has been given life, and it finds a way to protect itself.