Melanargia lachesis

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Melanargia lachesis
Melanargia lachesis

Melanargia lachesis

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Noble butterfly (Nymphalidae)
Subfamily : Eye butterflies (Satyrinae)
Genre : Melanargia
Type : Melanargia lachesis
Scientific name
Melanargia lachesis
( Huebner , 1790)
Wing underside
Specimen with pronounced eye spots

Melanargia lachesis , also called Iberian chessboard based on the English name Iberian Marbled White, is a butterfly (day butterfly ) from the family of the noble butterfly (Nymphalidae). The species name is derived from Lachesis (Greek Λάχεσις "allocator") a daughter of Zeus and the goddess Themis .

features

The moths reach a wingspan of 50 to 56 millimeters. The tops of their wings are spotted black or dark brown and white like a checkerboard. In contrast to the other species of the genus Melanargia , the cell on the upper side of the forewing is colored white and only basal black. In the post-fiscal region there are usually three black, white-core and wide white-rimmed eye spots . The wing veins are black. The undersides of the wings are predominantly white to light brown in color and have no dark transverse stripes, only a slightly darker colored spot can be present on the front edge. There are specimens whose wing underside is almost pure white.

Occurrence and habitat

The moths are found all over the Iberian Peninsula with the exception of Cantabria and parts of the Basque Country . The occurrence extends over the Eastern Pyrenees to Roussillon and southern Languedoc . The Rhone forms the eastern limit of the distribution. They occur from the plain to about 1,600 meters above sea level. They prefer dry, flower-rich, natural meadows that can also be overgrown with bushes.

Way of life

The moths fly from June and into August. They often sit on knapweed ( Centaurea ), scabiosa ( Scabiosa ), thistle ( Cirsium ) and ring thistle ( Carduus ) and suck nectar. The host plants are different grasses . The caterpillar overwinters.

literature

  • Tom Tolman and Richard Lewington: The Butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa. 319 p., Kosmos Naturführer, Stuttgart 1998 ISBN 3-440-07573-7
  • Jan Christian Habel, Thomas Schmitt and Paul Müller: The fourth paradigm pattern of post-glacial range expansion of European terrestrial species: the phylogeography of the Marbled White butterfly (Satyrinae, Lepidoptera). Journal of Biogeography, 32: 1489-1497, Oxford 2005.

Web links

Commons : Melanargia lachesis  - album with pictures, videos and audio files