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Melitaea arduinna

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Class
  
Insecta

Family
  
Nymphalidae

Rank
  
Species

Phylum
  
Arthropoda

Order
  
Lepidoptera

Genus
  
Melitaea

Melitaea arduinna httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Similar
  
Melitaea persea, Melitaea punica, Melitaea trivia, Melitaea ornata, Melitaea deserticola

Freyer's fritillary (Melitaea arduinna) is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found from south-eastern Europe across Asia Minor to central Asia and the Altai. The habitat consists of steppe-clad slopes.

The wingspan is 45–50 mm. Adults are on wing from the end of May to August. There is usually one, but sometimes two generations per year.

The larvae feed on Centaurea species, including Centaurea behen. The larvae overwinter in a web nest on the host plant. Pupation takes place in a pupa which is attached to the stem of the host plant just above the ground.

Subspecies

  • Melitaea arduinna arduinna (south-eastern Europe, south-western Siberia, Altai, Alai, northern Tian Shan, Dzhungarsky Alatau, Tarbagatai, Saur)
  • Melitaea arduinna uralensis Eversmann, 1844
  • Melitaea arduinna rhodopensis Freyer, [1836]
  • Melitaea arduinna kocaki Wagener & Gross, 1976 (Transcaucasia)
  • Melitaea arduinna evanescens Staudinger, 1886 (Kopet-Dagh, Ghissar-Darvaz, western Pamirs, Israel)

    • References

    Melitaea arduinna Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA