Blue butterflies Alps

A number of species of moths live in the Alps, some of which are believed to have evolved in the same habitat up to 120 million years ago,

long before the Alps were created. Blue butterflies can commonly be seen drinking from the snow melt; some species of blues fly as high as 1,800 m (5,900 ft).[88] The butterflies tend to be large, such as those from the swallowtail Parnassius family,

with a habitat that ranges to 1,800 m (5,900 ft). Twelve species of beetles have habitats up to the snow line; the most beautiful and formerly

collected for its colours but now protected is Rosalia alpina.[89] Spiders, such as the large wolf spider, live above the snow line and can be seen as high as 400 m (1,300 ft). Scorpions can be found in the Italian Alps.[87]

Some of the species of moths and insects show evidence of having been indigenous to the area from as long ago as the Alpine orogeny. In Emosson in Valais, Switzerland, dinosaur tracks were found in the 1970s, dating probably from the Triassic Period.[90]