Speedwell piebald

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Speedwell piebald
Speedwell piebald (Melitaea aurelia)

Speedwell piebald ( Melitaea aurelia )

Systematics
Subordination : Glossata
Family : Noble butterfly (Nymphalidae)
Subfamily : Spotted butterfly (Nymphalinae)
Tribe : Common piebald (Melitaeini)
Genre : Melitaea
Type : Speedwell piebald
Scientific name
Melitaea aurelia
Nickerl , 1850

The speedwell piebald butterfly ( Melitaea aurelia ) is a species of butterfly from the noble butterfly family . It occurs in Central Europe . The specific epithet is derived from a Roman woman's name.

features

The moths reach a wingspan of 28 to 32 millimeters. They have yellow-brown to orange-brown wing tops, which are drawn with a black grid pattern.

Similar species

There are a number of similar species, including the plantain butterfly ( Melitaea cinxia ) and the western blue butterfly ( Melitaea parthenoides ). It is particularly difficult to distinguish the speedwell piebald butterfly from the quail wheat piebald ( Melitaea athalia ) and the eastern piebald butterfly ( Melitaea britomartis ). Depending on the population , different morphological features of the three species overlap . Only with very good knowledge of the habitual distinguishing features in relation to regional origin can the moths also be determined from external factors; this determination is always uncertain for individual specimens and is in many cases completely impossible. Therefore, the genital examination is very often decisive, which almost always allows a reliable determination, especially in the case of males.

Way of life

Speedwell pied butterflies fly from June to August, depending on the region in which they live.

The eggs are laid on the underside of the leaf of the forage plants. The caterpillars prefer to eat ribwort ( Plantago lanceolata ), meadow quail wheat ( Melampyrum pratense ) and the small rattlespot ( Rhinanthus minor ). Pupation takes place on leaves or stems near the ground.

gallery

  • Melitaea aurelia ♂ top of wing

  • Melitaea aurelia ♂ underside of wing

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Arnold Spuler: The butterflies of Europe . tape 1 . E. Schweitzerbartsche Verlagbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1908, p. 24 .
  2. ↑ Jure Jugovic, Toni Koren (2014): Wing pattern morphology of three closely related Melitaea (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) species reveals highly inaccurate external morphology-based species identification. Nota Lepidopterologica 37 (1): 75-90. doi : 10.3897 / nl.37.7966
  3. ↑ Ehrenpreis-Scheckenfalter, Quail-Wheat-Scheckenfalter and Eastern Scheckenfalter in comparison at schmetterling-raupe.de, accessed on March 9, 2016

literature

  • Franz Anton Nickerl: Synopsis of the Lepidoptera fauna of Bohemia. 1st division containing the papilionids, sphingids, bombycids, noctuids. Friedrich Ehrlich, Prague 1850, p. 12 (first description, facsimile )

Web links

Commons : Melitaea aurelia  - Collection of images, videos and audio files