''Apatura ilia'', the lesser purple emperor, is a species of butterfly native to most of Europe and east across the

Palearctic 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-Sibe ...

. It is named for its similarity to the purple emperor butterfly.

Description

The wingspan is in the female and in the male. The upper side of the wings is dark brown, with metallic blue-violet hues in the male, and it has a clear postdiscal band on the hind wing and several light spots on the fore wing. These clear areas can be presented in two different aspects; they are white on the butterflies of the nominal form ''ilia'', and clear fawn in the form ''clytie''. For both forms, the fore wing also has an orange-coloured ocellus, which makes differentiating the species from ''

Apatura iris ''Apatura iris'', the purple emperor, is a Palearctic butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Description Adults have dark brown wings with white bands and spots, and a small orange ring on each of the hindwings. Males have a wingspan of , and ...

'' possible. A similar ocellus is present on the hind wing in both species. The reverse side of the fore wing is brown and the back of the hind wing is dull brown with, as in ''A. iris'', an orange ocellus centered in black. File:Kleiner_Schillerfalter_-_Jungraupe_02_%28HS%29.JPG, Caterpillar File:Apatura ilia eyespot.jpg, Black dot of ''Apatura ilia'' right fore wing, ventral side, male File:Apatura_ilia_3.jpg, Germany Lesser purple emperor (Apatura ilia ilia f. clytie) composite.jpg, Composite ''A. i. ilia'' f. ''clytie'', Hungary Lesser purple emperor (Apatura ilia ilia f. clytie) underside.jpg, ''A. i. ilia'' f. ''clytie'', Hungary Mounted specimens Apatura ilia MHNT CUT 2013 3 18 Compiegne Dos.jpg, ''Apatura ilia ilia'', male dorsal Apatura ilia MHNT CUT 2013 3 18 Compiegne Ventre.jpg, ''Apatura ilia ilia'', male ventral Apatura ilia f. clytie MHNT CUT 2013 3 18 Male compiegne dorsal.jpg, ''Apatura ilia ilia'' f. ''clytie'', male dorsal Apatura ilia f. clytie MHNT CUT 2013 3 18 Male compiegne ventral.jpg, ''Apatura ilia ilia'' f. ''clytie'', male ventral

Biology

''A. ilia'' flies from May to September in one or two generations. It feeds on tree honeydew and flies near their summit. It goes down only to find moisture, honeydew shrubs or excrement. The eggs are laid singly on leaves. The caterpillar host plants are willows and poplars, in particular '' Populus tremula'' and '' Populus nigra''. ''A. ilia'' either pupates in the same year or winters as a young caterpillar, becoming brown, stuck to a twig. The greyish green chrysalis hangs from a leaf or twig.

Ecology and distribution

It is present in most of Europe and across the Palearctic to Japan. However, it is absent from the European Mediterranean islands and the southernmost regions, from the majority of Spain and Portugal, southern Italy and Greece, as well as Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Poland, northern Germany and the British Isles). This species belongs to a group of 35 European butterflies for which ecologists had sufficient data to assess the possible movements of their range in Europe. Of these 35 butterflies studied, Apatura ilia was an exception - it is the only species that has seen the northern limits of its area move slightly down to the south while its southern limit remained stable.

Cultural references

*It is named in the

Classical tradition The Western classical tradition is the reception of classical Greco-Roman antiquity by later cultures, especially the post-classical West, involving texts, imagery, objects, ideas, institutions, monuments, architecture, cultural artifacts, ri ...

, Ilia was the mother of Romulus and Remus in Roman mythology. *In March 1987 DPR Korea issued a postage stamp depicting ''Apatura ilia''.

References

External links

''Apatura ilia''
at Native Butterflies of Europe

at ButterflyCorner.net {{authority control Apaturinae Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Europe Butterflies described in 1775