The Niobe fritillary (''Fabriciana niobe'') is a
species of
butterfly in the family
Nymphalidae.
Etymology
The Latin species name ''niobe'' refers to
Niobe, daughter of
Tantalus in Greek mythology.
[Giuseppe Mazza]
/ref>
Subspecies
Subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
include:[
* ''F. n. niobe'' (central Europe and Western Siberia)
* ''F. n. changaica'' Reuss, 1922
* ''F. n. demavendis'' (Gross & Ebert, 1975) ( Iran)
* ''F. n. gigantea'' (Staudinger, 1871) (southern Europe)
* ''F. n. intermedia'' Reuss, 1925
* ''F. n. khusestana'' (Gross & Ebert, 1975) (western Iran)
* ''F. n. kurana'' (Wyatt & Omoto, 1966)
* ''F. n. orientalis'' (Alphéraky, 1881)
* ''F. n. ornata'' (Staudinger, 1901)
* ''F. n. shiva'' (Wyatt & Omoto, 1966)
* ''F. n. tekkensis'' (Christoph, 1893)
* ''F. n. valesinoides'' Reuss, 1926 ( Korea)
* ''F. n. voraxides'' Reuss, 1921
]
Distribution and habitat
''Fabriciana niobe'' is common throughout Europe, but absent from the United Kingdom and Northern Europe
The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...
, and is also found in Siberia, Russia, Iran, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, and Korea[Funet - Niobe Fritillary]
/ref> These butterflies can be found in open grassy places, slopes, woodland and clearings at altitudes between sea level and .
/ref>[Euro Butterflies by Matt Rowlings]
/ref>
Description
''Fabriciana niobe'' has a wingspan of .[ The females are rather bigger and have more marked wings.][ These medium-sized butterflies have a bright brown-orange background with black dots and crossbands, and a line of submarginal triangular patches. The forewings margin shows a rounded shape. The underside of the hindwings usually has small whitish-silvery spots, a black pupilled yellow spot and black lined submarginal lunules and veins in the basal area.][ Caterpillars have a dark basic colour with small, white spots and white thorns.
This species is rather similar to the dark-green fritillary ('' Speyeria aglaja'') and high brown fritillary ('' Fabriciana adippe''), but it is quite smaller, the silver centred brown spots are smaller and the postdiscal silver markings are not continuous.][
Seitz - ''A. niobe'' L. (69c). Above very similar to ''aglaja'', at once recognized by the much more variegated under-side. The hindwing beneath is without the even verdigris shading in the basal half, the latter bearing distinct leathery-yellow patches, which are often centred, edged or shaded with brownish green. The nymotypical form has abundant silver-spots beneath, more than ''aglaja'', as the distal band has no silver in ''aglaja'', while it
bears silvery centres in ''niobe''.][ 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)]
Biology
This species is univoltine.[ It overwinters at the caterpillar stage in the egg shell. Adults fly from May to late August.][ The eggs are laid on the vegetation, near the host plants. The larvae hatch in March and mature in June. Caterpillars feed on '' Viola tricolor'', '' Viola canina'', '' Viola riviniana'', '' Viola odorata'', '']Viola hirta
''Viola hirta'' is a species of the plant genus ''Viola''. It is also called the hairy violet. As with the sweet violet, no fossil seeds of this species have been found. It is confined to the cold temperate zone, in Europe, north and west Asia, ...
'', '' Viola palustris'' and ''Plantago lanceolata
''Plantago lanceolata'' is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It is known by the common names ribwort plantain, narrowleaf plantain, English plantain, ribleaf, lamb's tongue, and buckhorn. It is a common weed on c ...
''.[
]
Gallery
File:Fabriciana niobe MHNT CUT 2013 3 24 Cahors dorsal.jpg, Dorsal view
File:Fabriciana niobe MHNT CUT 2013 3 24 Cahors Ventral.jpg, Ventral view
References
External links
* Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfil
Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
Lepiforum.de
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1981383, from2=Q392364
Fabriciana
Butterflies of Asia
Butterflies of Europe
Butterflies of Japan
Butterflies described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus