''Melitaea phoebe'', the knapweed fritillary,
is a
butterfly of the family
Nymphalidae. It is found in the
Palearctic realm, except the northernmost locations. It used to include ''
Melitaea telona'', recently revalidated as a distinct
cryptic species.
Description
The
wingspan is 34–50 mm. ''M. phoebe''. The largest ''Melitaea'' of the Old World, at least certain of its forms. The forewing much more pointed than in the previous species; equally variable in colour as well as the distinctness of the markings. The black markings are usually united, in some cases even covering nearly the whole wings, but in other cases may be strongly reduced. It is characteristic for this species that the reddish yellow submarginal lunate spot situated between the two median veins reaches with its vertex considerably farther into the disc than the other yellow lunate spots. This is especially the case on the forewing, but also on the hindwing the submarginal lunule between the 1. and 2. median veins projects farther basad than the others of the same row.
[ Seitz. A. in Seitz, A. ed. Band 1: Abt. 1, ''Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen Tagfalter'', 1909, 379 Seiten, mit 89 kolorierten Tafeln (3470 Figuren)]
Melitaea phoebe MHNT CUT 2013 29 Flotte male dorsal.jpg, Male
Melitaea phoebe MHNT CUT 2013 29 Flotte male ventral.jpg, Male underside
Melitaea phoebe MHNT CUT 2013 3 29 Les Vigneaux female dorsal.jpg, Female
Melitaea phoebe MHNT CUT 2013 3 29 Les Vigneaux female ventral.jpg, Female underside
Melitaea phoebe pupa.jpg, Pupa
Melitaea phoebe eruga 2.jpg, Larva
Melitaea phoebe eruga.jpg, Larva
Biology
The butterfly flies from April to September depending on the location.
The larvae feed on ''
Plantago'' and ''
Centaurea'' species (including ''
Centaurea jacea
''Centaurea jacea'', brown knapweed or brownray knapweed, is a species of herbaceous perennial plants in the genus ''Centaurea'' native to dry meadows and open woodland throughout Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally conside ...
'').
References
phoebe Phoebe or Phœbe may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People and characters
* Phoebe (given name), a list of people, mythological, biblical and fictional characters
* Phoebe (Greek myth), several characters
* Phoebe, an epithet of Artemis/ Diana and Selene/ L ...
Butterflies of Europe
{{Nymphalinae-stub