LEPIDOPTERA

• N Y M P H A L I D A E Swainson, 1827

  • MELITAEA Fabricius, 1807

    
    

    • Melitaea protomedia Menetries, 1858

Melitaea protomedia Menetries, 1858

• TYPE LOCALITY. «...rives de 1'Amour non loin de 1'0ussouri» [Amur region, Russia].

• RANGE. The Amur River basin; from central and E. China to Korea and Japan.

• DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. The S. Amur and Ussuri regions are populated by the nominotypical subspecies. The species displays variation in size and UNH colouration. Some specimens from the S. Ussuri region are transitional toward the ssp. regama Fruhstorfer, 1915, described from ChangYang (SW. China) and known to occur up to Korea in the north (Higgins, 1955). Specimens with white spots on the UNH have been described as the form argentea Fixsen, 1887.

• TAXONOMIC NOTES. The taxon regama Fruhstorfer, 1915 is strongly suspected to represent a separate species.

• HABITATS AND BIOLOGY. Flowering meadows, forest edges and clearings. Flight period: July to August. Host plant (Kurentzov, 1970): Veronica.

• SIMILAR SPECIES. Melitaea diamina: FW broader, UPS darker, as a rule, especially UPH, ground colour of UNS more yellow; discal and submaginal fascia of UNH yellow.

Photo and text: Guide to the BUTTERFLIES OF RUSSIA and adjacent territories Volume 2. PENSOFT, Sofia - Moscow. 2000