Melanargia russiae

Melanargia russiae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Melanargia
Species: M. russiae
Binomial name
Melanargia russiae
(Esper, 1783)
Synonyms
  • Papilio russiae Esper, 1783

Melanargia russiae, or Esper's marbled white, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.[1] It is found in Spain, Portugal, south-eastern France, Italy, the Balkans, southern Russia, the Caucasus and western Siberia.

The male has a wingspan of 26–30 mm. Adults are on wing from June to August, although mainly in July in rocky places. There is one generation per year.

The larvae feed on Brachypodium, Poa, Stipa pennata and Aegilops geniculata. It overwinters in the larval stage

Subspecies

  • Melanargia russiae russiae
  • Melanargia russiae caucasiaca Nordmann, 1851 (Caucasus Minor, Armenian Highland, Talysh)
  • Melanargia russiae transcaspica Staudinger, 1901 (Kopet-Dagh)

References

  1. "Melanargia Meigen, 1828" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
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