Melitaea parthenoides

Melitaea parthenoides
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Melitaea
Species: M. parthenoides
Binomial name
Melitaea parthenoides
Synonyms
  • Mellicta parthenoides (Keferstein, 1851)

Melitaea parthenoides, the meadow fritillary, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Note that the common name meadow fritillary is also used for the North American species Boloria bellona. It is found in south-western Europe, more specifically on the Iberian Peninsula, south-western France, parts of the Italian Alps and southern and south-western Germany and a few regions of Switzerland. Recently one was spotted by an officer for The Parks Trust on private farmland in Tingewick, Buckingham, England, which was later confirmed by Butterfly Conservation, as reported in the local newspaper dated 15 August 2014.

Description

The wingspan is 28–34 mm. In dry, favourable climates, adults are on wing in two generations, from May to June and from August to September. At high altitudes, there is one generation from June to July.

The larvae feed on Plantago species, mainly P. lanceolata.


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