''Coenonympha arcania'', the pearly heath, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

species belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...

Distribution

It can be found in

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

Description

It resembles ''

Coenonympha hero ''Coenonympha hero'', the scarce heath, is a butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae. Distribution It can be found in Central Europe, Northern Europe and the North Palearctic (Urals East to Mongolia, Korea and Japan). Descript ...

''. Seitz describes it thus ''C. arcania'' L. (48 d). Forewing fiery reddish yellow with black distal margin, hindwing dark brown. Easily recognised by the underside of the hindwing, whose marginal portion is occupied by a broad white band, which in the nymotypical form interrupts the row of ocelli below the apical eye, the latter therefore appearing to be placed on the inside of the white band. All Europe except great Britain, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean sea and from Spain and France to the Black sea and Armenia. — Specimens with a very broadly black margin to the forewing and a narrowed and slightly dentate band on the underside of the hindwing, which probably occur among nymotypical specimens everywhere, but especially in the South, are considered as ab. ''insubrica'' Frey

var. In botanical nomenclature, variety (abbreviated var.; in la, varietas) is a taxonomic rank below that of species and subspecies, but above that of form. As such, it gets a three-part infraspecific name. It is sometimes recommended that the ...

48 d). — Larva green with dark dorsal stripe bordered with a yellowish tint, light subdorsal stripe and pale yellow lateral stripe; head blue-green, mouth and anal fork red. Until May on grasses. Pupa brown, with whitish wing-cases edged with red. Butterflies very common in June and July and often flying together in large numbers. At the edge of woods full of undergrowth, but also in the open country and on hills. They affect flying round bushes and settle on the tip of low twigs, but sometimes also fly up into the higher branches of trees. The females are much less numerous than the males and appear later. (MHNT) Coenonympha arcania - Foret de Bouconne, France - male dorsal.jpg, ''Coenonympha arcania'' ♂ (MHNT) Coenonympha arcania - Foret de Bouconne, France - male ventral.jpg, ''Coenonympha arcania'' ♂ △ (MHNT) Coenonympha arcania - Foret de Bouconne, France - female dorsal.jpg, ''Coenonympha arcania'' ♀ (MHNT) Coenonympha arcania - Foret de Bouconne, France - female ventral.jpg, ''Coenonympha arcania'' ♀ △

Biology

Depending on the temperature, they are found an altitude of up to 1,800 meters. They are found almost everywhere, preferring to live in sun-drenched and lightly wooded forests and on forest edges and on bushy, dry grasslands. The butterflies fly in one generation from May to August.They usually sit in sunny spots with their wings closed. To do this, they point the undersides of their wings directly to the sun and thus sit very obliquely. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e feed on various

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

es including ''

Holcus lanatus ''Holcus lanatus'' is a perennial grass. The specific epithet ' is Latin for 'woolly' which describes the plant's hairy texture. Common names include Yorkshire fog, tufted grass, and meadow soft grass. In North America, where it is an invasive ...

'' and ''

Festuca ovina ''Festuca ovina'', sheep's fescue or sheep fescue, is a species of grass. It is sometimes confused with hard fescue (''Festuca trachyphylla''). General description It is a perennial plant sometimes found in acidic ground, and in mountain pastur ...

''.The females lay their eggs individually or in small groups on the stalks of the forage plants. The caterpillars overwinter young. Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: ''Die Tagfalter Europas und Nordwestafrikas'', S. 241f, Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7

Etymology

From Latin Arcania - mysterious, secretive.

References

External links

Vlindernet

Coenonympha Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Europe Fauna of Armenia Butterflies described in 1761 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Satyrini-stub