Lean-grass mother-of-pearl butterfly

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Lean-grass mother-of-pearl butterfly
Lean-grass mother-of-pearl butterfly (Boloria dia)

Lean-grass mother-of-pearl butterfly ( Boloria dia )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Noble butterfly (Nymphalidae)
Subfamily : Heliconiinae
Genre : Boloria
Type : Lean-grass mother-of-pearl butterfly
Scientific name
Boloria dia
( Linnaeus , 1767)
Two views of the same specimen

The lean-grass mother-of-pearl butterfly or wood violet mother-of-pearl butterfly ( Boloria dia ) is a butterfly (day butterfly ) from the family of noble butterflies (Nymphalidae).

features

The moths reach a wingspan of 32 to 36 millimeters and are among the smallest mother-of-pearl butterflies in Central Europe. Their wings are also more elongated than those of the other species. The wing tops are yellow-orange and have a pattern of black spots. The outer edges of both pairs of wings are finely dashed in white and black. In the post-disk region , a row of black dots is arranged parallel to the outer edge. The disk and basal regions have somewhat larger patches that extend to the veins . A larger, round black point can be found in the dark basal region. The veins on the entire top are finely colored black. The underside of the wing is relatively dark in color from a mixture of purple-brown and ocher-yellow. Especially in the middle, but also at the base, you can see three larger and some smaller mother-of-pearl spots and next to them some yellow ocher spots. In the post-disk region there is a somewhat more distinctly purple colored band, behind which, analogous to the black dots on the front, several brown, darkly pitted spots can be seen. On the outer edge there are some dark areas with isolated white inclusions.

The caterpillars are about 20 millimeters long and are very similar to those of the brown-spotted mother-of-pearl butterfly ( Boloria selene ). They are black-brown in color with fine, white spots and have a row of light brown thorns on each segment. Unlike the similar species, the foremost pair of thorns is not elongated.

Occurrence

The animals occur in Europe , but they are absent in parts of the Mediterranean area , in Northern Europe and on the British Isles . To the east, their distribution area extends over the Caucasus to Mongolia . They can be found at altitudes between 500 and 1550 meters. They live mainly on calcareous dry grassland , sometimes on sandy, poor grassland , in sparse forests and on fallow fields. They are not uncommon in the south of Germany , but only occur sporadically in the north. In general, they occur in only small numbers of individuals.

Way of life

Flight and caterpillar times

The grassland mother-of-pearl butterfly flies in two generations from late April to mid-June and from mid-July to mid-August. The caterpillars are found from August and after wintering until April and in June and July. In unfavorable years or in cooler places, only one generation develops; in optimal locations a third generation can develop in September and October.

Food of the caterpillars

The caterpillars feed on rough violet ( Viola hirta ) and other types of violets , but also on blackberries ( Rubus fruticosus ), raspberries ( Rubus idaeus ) and small brunelle ( Prunella vulgaris ).

development

The females lay their small, brightly colored eggs on shady caterpillar forage plants. The caterpillars are diurnal and overwinter in the third stage of adulthood. Pupation takes place in a brown tumbled pupa that has silver spots on its back. It is very similar to that of the fiery mother-of-pearl butterfly ( Argynnis adippe ), but much smaller.

Hazard and protection

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Heiko Bellmann : The new Kosmos butterfly guide. Butterflies, caterpillars and forage plants. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-440-09330-1 , p. 164.
  2. ↑ Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: Die Tagfalter Europäische und Nordwestafrikas , p. 162, Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7
  3. ↑ a b Hans-Josef Weidemann: Tagfalter: watch, determine , p. 436f, Naturbuch-Verlag Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89440-115-X
  4. ↑ a b Manfred Koch : We identify butterflies. Volume 1: Butterfly. 4th enlarged edition. Neumann, Radebeul / Berlin 1966, DNB 457244224 , p. 96f.
  5. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany. Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 978-3-89624-110-8 .

Web links

Commons : Magerrasen-Perlmuttfalter  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files