The Rocky Mountain Parnassian butterfly is well suited to live at a 10,000-foot elevation. I saw them warming up in the meadow pictured below on a cool morning in the Beartooth Mountains, Wyoming. The dark hairy body was surrounded by a black patch to absorb and retain the heat of the sunlight. The larva hatches from an overwintering egg and feeds on succulent Stonecrop leaves and flowers. Stonecrop also does well at this elevation where the soil stays moist. The larva hibernates through the winter so it can grow to full size in a later summer when it transforms into a pupa protected by a loose silken web. Like other larva in the swallowtail family, the Parnassian larva has a retractable organ called an osmeterium that emits a predator-repelling smell. The Rocky Mountain Parnassian butterfly is one of many animals including birds, elk, and goats that are at home in the mountains. It appears that God provided in the created kinds the genetics to result in species for every place. The whole earth is full of His glory.
