The Queen of Spain fritillary (''Issoria lathonia'') is a

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

of the family

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 ...

Subspecies

Subspecies include:"''Issoria'' Hübner, [1819]"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' *''Issoria lathonia lathonia'' *''Issoria lathonia isaea'' (Gray, 1846) (Himalaya, Yunnan) *''Issoria lathonia messora'' (Fruhstorfer, 1909) (China) *''Issoria lathonia isaeoides'' Reuss, 1925 (Sichuan, China)

Distribution and habitat

This migratory species is widespread in most of Europe, in North Africa, Canary Islands, and in the eastern

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sib ...

(Central Asia, Himalayas, Baluchistan, and Western China). These butterflies live in open areas, in dry lawns, agricultural wastelands and in extensive crops at altitudes between sea level and 2700 m.Captain's European Butterfly Guide
/ref>
/ref>

Description

''Issoria lathonia'' is a medium-sized butterfly with a

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan o ...

of . The wings show a deep orange-violet background, with rounded black spots arranged in regular rows and suffused with greenish gray in the females. The underside of the hindwings is decorated with large pearly nacreous spots and it is crossed by a postdiscal row of black eyespots with pearly pupils. Some pearly spots also appear at the apex of the forewings. The caterpillar can reach a length of . It is grayish brown, with black spots, and relatively short brown spines with white tip, and a double row of dorsal white streaks. The suspended chrysalis is dark brown, with a large white saddle-shaped stain and some smaller ones of the same color, resembling a bird's dropping. The imago is loosely similar to '' Speyeria aglaja'', '' Fabriciana adippe'' and ''

Brenthis daphne ''Brenthis daphne'', the marbled fritillary, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Subspecies Subspecies include: * ''B. d. daphne'' (Europe) * ''B. d. fumidia'' (Butler, 1882) (Korea) * ''B. d. rabdia'' Butler, 1877 (Japan) * ''B. d. ochr ...

'', which have the same orange color on the upperside of the wings, but show different markings and spots. Moreover, the underside of the hindwings does not have the large pearly spots characteristic of the Queen of Spain fritillary. Issoria lathonia MHNT CUT 2013 3 24 PONT GERENDOINE Male Dorsal.jpg, Male Issoria lathonia MHNT CUT 2013 3 24 PONT GERENDOINE Male Ventral.jpg, Male underside Issoria lathonia MHNT CUT 2013 3 24 Meyrueis Female Dorsal.jpg, Female Issoria lathonia MHNT CUT 2013 3 24 Meyrueis Female Ventral.jpg, Female underside

Biology

This species is present almost throughout the year, with three or four successive generations. The eggs are laid separately on the underside of the leaves of the host plant. The larval cycle is exceptionally short. The pupation takes place among the low vegetation, between a few leaves united by silk. This species may overwinter at all larval stages. Adults are strong flyers and fly from March to October. The heat-dependent caterpillars feed on ''

Viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

'' species (wild pansy or heartsease (''

Viola tricolor ''Viola tricolor'' is a common European wild flower, growing as an annual or short-lived perennial. The species is also known as wild pansy, Johnny Jump up (though this name is also applied to similar species such as the yellow pansy), heartsea ...

''), field pansy ('' Viola arvensis''), ''

Viola canina ''Viola canina'' (heath dog-violet or heath violet) is a species of the genus ''Viola'', native to Europe, where it is found in heaths, fens, and moist woodlands, especially on acidic soils. It is a herbaceous perennial plant A perennial ...

'', ''

Viola odorata ''Viola odorata'' is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Viola'', native to Europe and Asia. This small hardy herbaceous perennial is commonly known as wood violet, sweet violet, English violet, common violet, florist's violet, or garden ...

'', '' Viola calcarata'', ''

Viola lutea ''Viola lutea'', the mountain pansy, is a species of violet that grows in Europe, from the British Isles to the Balkans. Description ''Viola lutea'' grows to a height of around . Its flowers are in diameter, and are typically yellow, although ...

'', '' Viola biflora''), lucerne (''

Medicago sativa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

''), borage (''

Borago officinalis Borage ( or ; ''Borago officinalis''), also known as starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region, and has naturalized in many other locales. It grows satisfactorily in gar ...

''), '' Anchusa'', ''

Rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, with over 1,350 species. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of the ...

'' and ''

Onobrychis __NOTOC__ ''Onobrychis'', the sainfoins, are a genus of Eurasian perennial herbaceous plants of the legume family (Fabaceae). Including doubtfully distinct species and provisionally accepted taxa, about 150 species are presently known. The Flora ...

'' species.Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfil
Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
/ref> In the dry regions ''Issoria lathonia'' carries out a seasonal vertical migration between hardy evergreen shrubs and small trees of plains and mountain fir pines, where it remains in summer to descend in autumn at low altitude.

Bibliography

* * *. * *

References

External links

Lepi Net - Les Carnets du Lépidoptériste Français

UK Butterflies
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1126187 Issoria Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Europe Butterflies described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus