''Melanargia larissa'', the Balkan marbled white, 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 ...

in 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 ...

. It is found from south-eastern Europe (

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

) and

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

and north-western

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The habitat consists of dry grasslands, scrubby hillsides and grassy woodland glades. Adults are on wing from mid-May to July in one generation per year. The

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 of ...

is about 52 mm. The nymotypical form ''larissa'' Hbn. (38f) is easily recognized by the strongly sooty blackening of the bases of the wings, only the cell having some light places left. The forms allied to ''larissa'' can be separated from the '' japygia''- forms only withdifficulty and some arbitrariness. The transverse cell-bar of the forewing is not so close to the centre of the cell, being apparently a little shifted towards the apex of the same, and the median band of the hindwing has a somewhat different position, but also varies rather considerably. The countries inhabited by the forms of ''larissa'' are more or less grouped around the Black Sea, while the distribution area of the '' japygia'' -forms encircles that of ''larissa'' in a wide arch. The larvae feed on ''

Brachypodium ''Brachypodium'' is a genus of plants in the grass family, widespread across much of Africa, Eurasia, and Latin America. The genus is classified in its own tribe Brachypodieae. Flimsy upright stems form tussocks. Flowers appear in compact spi ...

'' species.Captain's European Butterfly Guide
/ref>

Subspecies

*''Melanargia larissa larissa'' *''Melanargia larissa grumi'' Standfuss, 1892 *''Melanargia larissa hylata'' (Ménétriés, 1832) (

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and

) *''Melanargia larissa iranica'' Seitz, 1907 *''Melanargia larissa karabagi'' Koçak, 1976 (Turkey) *''Melanargia larissa kocaki'' Wagener, 1983 *''Melanargia larissa lorestanensis'' Carbonell & Naderi, 2007 *''Melanargia larissa massageta'' Staudinger, 1901 *''Melanargia larissa syriaca'' Oberthur, 1894 *''Melanargia larissa taurica'' Rober, 1896 *'' Melanargia larissa titea'' Klug, 1832 (MHNT) Melanargia larissa - Krésna (obchtina) - Bulgarie - male dorsal.jpg, ''Melanargia larissa'' ♂ (MHNT) Melanargia larissa - Krésna (obchtina) - Bulgarie - male ventral.jpg, ''Melanargia larissa'' ♂ △ (MHNT) Melanargia larissa - Rodopi - Bulgarie - female dorsal.jpg, ''Melanargia larissa'' ♀ (MHNT) Melanargia larissa - Rodopi - Bulgarie - female ventral.jpg, ''Melanargia larissa'' ♀ △

Etymology

Larissa (Greek) -

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

, a city in Thessaly

References

larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

Fauna of the Balkans Butterflies described in 1828 {{Satyrini-stub