Issoria lathonia (Linnaeus, 1758)

Distribution

• Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Corsica, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardinia, Sicily, Slovakia, the Soviet Union - The European part of Turkey - European part, Finland, France, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia,Yugoslavia. [1].
• Albania, Andorra, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the British Isles, France, Germany, Greece (mainland), Denmark (mainland), Ireland, Spain (mainland), Italy (mainland), Canary island of Corsica, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira, Macedonia, the Netherlands,Norway (mainland), the Channel Islands, Poland, Portugal (mainland), Romania, Russia, Sardinia, North Aegean Islands, Sicily, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey (European part), Ukraine, Finland, France (mainland), Croatia , Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia, Yugoslavia. [10].
• Regions of the Russian Federation: the Volga-Don, East Caucasus, Gorno-Altaisk, the European North-East, the European North-West, the European Central Black Earth, the European Central European South taiga, the Western Caucasus, Kaliningrad, Karelia, Krasnoyarsk, Lower Volga, Prealtay North-Ural,Middle-Volga, Urals Average, Sredneobskaya, Tuva, South West Siberian, South Ural. [3].
• Its Range Is All Of Europe. North Africa. Canary Islands. Asia Minor and Central Asia, Western China. In the mountains it rises to heights of 2500 m [85].

Imago Habitus and Differences from alike species

• The length of the forewing is from 2 to 2.2 cm; on the underside of the hindwings there are characteristic, including very large, mother-of-pearl spots of various shapes, due to which it is difficult to confuse the field mother-of-pearl with any other butterfly species. The form valdensis Esp. the underside of the wings is dark and uniformly colored; the form paradoxa Fuchs is characterized by an almost continuous band of mother-of-pearl spots on the underside of the hindwings. [85].

General info about Imago

• Habitats: fields and meadows, steppes. A migratory species whose mass departures were recorded in 1872 and 1954 (Great Britain). [85].

Imago lifespan

• Two generations — from April to May (in warm countries already from February) and from July to mid-September. A third generation of butterflies is also possible, in which case they can fly until October (although the field mother-of-pearl found in October will not necessarily be a representative of the third generation). [85].

General info about Larva

• The body of the caterpillar is black-gray, with yellowish dorsal and lateral stripes. [85].

Larva food plants / other food objects

• Viola tricolor, Viola arvensis, Viola calcarata, Viola odorata, Viola lutea, Viola biflora. [28].
• Личинки Issoria lathonia обожают фиалки и анютины глазки. [85].

Larva lifespan

• Larvae of Issoria lathonia live from September to April and from June to July. [85].

Pupa

• The pupa of this mother-of-pearl is golden brown, with a yellow stripe and a metallic sheen on the back. The duration of the pupal stage is around 4 weeks. [85].

Egg

• Eggs are laid singly, not in groups. [85].

Overwintering stage

• The caterpillar overwinters. [85].

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Issoria baumanni Rebel & Rogenhofer, 1894

Issoria blancasi Hayward, 1960

Issoria cytheris (Drury, [1773])

Issoria eugenia (Eversmann, 1847)

Issoria hanningtoni Elwes, 1889

Issoria inca (Staudinger, 1894)

Issoria lathonioides (Blanchard, 1852)

Issoria miriam Dognin, 1888

Issoria modesta (Blanchard, 1852)

Issoria smaragdifera (Butler, 1895)

Issoria sobrina (Weymer, 1890)

Issoria tessellata Rosenberg & Talbot, 1914

Issoria uganda Rob.