LEPIDOPTERA

• S A T Y R I D A E Boisduval, 1833

  • MELANARGIA Meigen, [1828]

    
    

    • Melanargia galathea (Linnaeus, 1758)

Melanargia galathea (Linnaeus, 1758)

· TYPE LOCALITY. Germany.

· RANGE. From N. Africa and W. Europe to the S. Urals; across the Caucasus and Asia Minor to N. Iran.

· DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. The European part, the S. Urals - the nominate subspecies (= procida Herbst, 1794; = symaithis Fruhstorfer, 1910; = conventa Fruhstorfer, 1917); the Caucasus Major and Minor - ssp. satnia Fruhstorfer, 1917 (= njurdzhan Sheljuzhko, 1936).

· TAXONOMIC NOTES. Most of these taxa described from the area in question should be regarded as ecological forms or aberrations as they differ mainly in the degree of development of black coloration, which is the function of microclimatic conditions and is highly variable in almost every population of M. galathea.

· HABITAT AND BIOLOGY. Grassy and flowery habitats (forest edges and clearings, meadows, steppe) up to 1,500-1,700 m a.s.l. Flight period: June-August. Host plants (Eckstein, 1913; Nekrutenko, 1990; Hesselbarth et al., 1995; etc.): grasses Phleum, Poa, Bromus, Elytrigia, Holcus, Dactylis, Triticum, Agropyron, etc.

Photo and text: Guide to the BUTTERFLIES OF RUSSIA and adjacent territories Volume 1. PENSOFT, Sofia - Moscow. 1997