Melitaea athalia (Rottemburg, 1775)

Taxonomy

class Insecta → subclass Pterygota → infraclass Neoptera → superorder Holometabola → order Lepidoptera → superfamily Papilionoidea → family Nymphalidae → subfamily Melitaeinae → tribe Melitaeini → subtribe Melitaeina → genus Melitaea → species Melitaea athalia

Species name(s)

Melitaea athalia (Rottemburg, 1775) = Mellicta athalia (Rottemburg, 1775) = Papilio athalia Rottemburg, 1775 = Melitaea athalia conica Matsumura, 1929 = Melitaea athalia flavescens Matsumura, 1929. [9, 10]

Heath Fritillary.

urn:lsid:insecta.pro:taxonomy:8596

Expansion

This species marks on the maps: 9.

Zoogeographical regions

Palaearctic.

Russia regions

#1. Kaliningradsky; #2. Kolsky; #3. Karelsky; #4. Evropeisky Severo-Zapadny; #6. Evropeisky Severo-Vostochny; #7. Evropeisky yuzhno-tayozhny; #8. Evropeisky Tsentralny; #9. Evropeisky Tsentralno-Chernozyomny; #10. Sredne-Volzhsky; #11. Volgo-Donsky; #13. Zapadno-Kavkazsky; #14. Vostochno-Kavkazsky; #16. Sredne-Uralsky; #17. Yuzhno-Uralsky; #19. Sredneobsky; #20. Yuzhno-Zapadnosibirsky; #21. Severo-Yeniseisky; #22. Krasnoyarsky; #23. Predaltaisky; #24. Gorno-Altaisky; #25. Tuvinsky; #26. Predbaikalsky; #27. Pribaikalsky; #28. Zabaikalsky; #29. Zapadno-Yakutsky; #30. Vostochno-Yakutsky; #31. Yuzhno-Yakutsky; #33. Severo-Okhotomorsky; #34. Kamchatsky; #35. Sredne-Okhotsky; #36. Sredne-Amursky; #37. Nizhne-Amursky; #38. Sakhalin*; #40. Primorsky*.

* An asterisk denotes a region for which the species is listed as an migrant or information that requires additional checking.

Primary colors

Orange, Brown/Gray/Black.

Flight time

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Larva lifespan

 					January 					February 					March 					April 					May 					June 					July 					August 					September 					October 					November 					December 			

Detailed information with references

Distribution

Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, 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), Spain (mainland), Italy (mainland), Latvia, Lithuania , Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway (mainland), Poland,Portugal (mainland), Russia, Romania, 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, East Yakutia, Gorno-Altaisk, the European North-East, the European North-West, the European Central Black Earth, the European Central European South taiga, Transbaikalia, Western Caucasus, West Yakut, Kaliningrad, Kamchatka, Karelia, Kola,Krasnoyarsk, Nizhne-Amur, Prealtay, of Baikal, Pribaikalskiy, Seaside (?), Sakhalin (?), The North-Yenisei North Okhotsk, Mid-Amur, Mid-Volzhsky, Average Okhotsk, Mid-Ural, Sredneobskaya, Tuva, South West Siberian, South Ural, South Yakutia. [3].
The range of the species is almost all of Europe, Siberia to East Asia, but it is absent in Japan. Also, athalia is not present in Ireland, in England she flies only in some counties-these are Kent, Essex, Sussex, Devon and Cornwall. In the north it goes beyond the Polar circle, in the Alps it rises above 2000 m. [85].

Imago Habitus and Differences from alike species

The most common species of the genus Melitaea. The top of the wings is black-brown with red-yellow spots. The hindwings have 3 full rows of spots, unlike the wings of the similar species Melitaea diamina, which has only 2 spots. The underside of the wings is yellow-brown, with a light yellow median band on the hindwings. The color and pattern are highly variable. For example, in the mountains there are butterflies with a monophonic, dark underside of the wings. Sometimes such specimens are found on the plains. The subspecies biedermanni Querci and celadussa Fruhstorfer live in southwestern Europe (Spain, Portugal); the form norvegica Aurivillius lives in Scandinavia. [85].

General info about Imago

It prefers light deciduous forests with clearings, hilly areas, and in the mountains — forest clearings where it is both sunny and not too dry. [85].

Imago lifespan

Years: May-August (Lampert, 2003) or mid — June-July (Nidon et al., 1991). Another option: two generations - from May to August and from August to September (Moukha, 1979). Obviously, this difference in data comes from different areas of observation of the butterfly. [85].

General info about Larva

The caterpillar Melitaea athalia is black (and its head is also black), with whitish (yellow-green — Moukha, 1979) dots and a white belly. [85].

Larva food plants / other food objects

Plantago, Veronica, Digitalis, Melampyrum, Linaria, Pedicularis. [28].
Подорожник, марьянник, вероника, наперстянка. [85].

Larva lifespan

Occurs from July to June of the following year. [85].

Pupa

The pupa is light gray, with red-yellow warts. The egg is round, light yellow, attached to the underside of the leaf. [85].

Overwintering stage

Caterpillars hibernate in groups in spider nests on the ground near the atalia shashechnitsa. [85].

Subspecies of Melitaea athalia

Mellicta athalia aceras Hormuzaki, 1911. [187]
M. a. anatolica Wagner, 1929. [187]
M. a. aranensis de Sagarra, 1930. [187]
M. a. asiae Verity, 1940. [187]
M. a. asteriades De Selys, 1857. [187]
M. a. aterrimevittata Verity, 1920. [187]
M. a. athalia. [9]
M. a. athalia (Rottemburg, 1775). [10]
M. a. athalides Verity, 1919. [187]
M. a. athalioides Turati & Verity, 1911. [187]
M. a. atrovittata Turati & Verity, 1911. [187]
M. a. baikalensis (Bremer, 1861). [9]
M. a. benacensis Verity, 1940. [187]
M. a. boris Fruhstorfer, 1917. [187]
M. a. britanna Verity, 1914. [187]
M. a. caucasogenita Verity, 1930. [187]
M. a. celadusa (Fruhstorfer, 1910). [10]
M. a. celadussa (Fruhstorfer, 1910). [9]
M. a. cymothoe Bertolini, 1829. [187]
M. a. deioneformis Verity, 1914. [187]
M. a. dejonides Wagner, 1918. [187]
M. a. delminia Fruhstorfer, 1910. [187]
M. a. diaminoides Verity, 1940. [187]
M. a. dictynnoides (Hormuzaki, 1898). [9]
M. a. divergens Rocci, 1930. [187]
M. a. evittata Verity, 1916. [187]
M. a. fennica Petersen, 1947. [187]
M. a. fiorii Rocci, 1932. [187]
M. a. hastensis Rocci, 1932. [187]
M. a. helvetica Rühl, 1888. [187]
M. a. hisopa De Selys, 1837. [187]
M. a. hispanica Wnukowsky, 1929. [187]
M. a. hyperborea Dubatolov, 1997. [9]
M. a. illyrica Stauder, 1914. [187]
M. a. lachares Fruhstorfer, 1923. [187]
M. a. lepontica Rütimeyer, 1943. [187]
M. a. limera Fruhstorfer, 1917. [187]
M. a. limeraparthenoidemima Verity, 1939. [187]
M. a. luciflua Fruhstorfer, 1917. [187]
M. a. lucifuga (Fruhstorfer, 1917). [9]
M. a. maxima Turati, 1912. [187]
M. a. maximaeformis Rocci, 1930. [187]
M. a. mehadiensis Gerhard, 1882. [187]
M. a. melangraphata Beuret, 1933. [187]
M. a. melida Fruhstorfer, 1923. [187]
M. a. microdelminia Verity, 1940. [187]
M. a. mixtaceladussa Verity, 1940. [187]
M. a. mixtalpicola Verity, 1940. [187]
M. a. navarina Cappel, 1899. [187]
M. a. nevadensis Oberthür, 1904. [187]
M. a. noctula Fruhstorfer, 1923. [187]
M. a. norvegica (Aurivillius, 1888). [9]
M. a. norwegica Aurivillius, 1888. [187]
M. a. nossis Fruhstorfer, 1923. [187]
M. a. obscura Verity, 1919. [187]
M. a. orientalpicola Verity, 1940. [187]
M. a. paleatincta Verity, 1913. [187]
M. a. parnassiotropa Bryk, 1923. [187]
M. a. partheniaesimilis Rocci, 1930. [187]
M. a. parthenides Verity, 1919. [187]
M. a. parthenoidemima Verity, 1939. [187]
M. a. parthenopsis Hormuzaki, 1925. [187]
M. a. parvanigra Verity, 1940. [187]
M. a. permixta Stauder, 1922. [187]
M. a. pseudaurelia Ebert, 1926. [187]
M. a. pseudodictynna Stauder, 1922. [187]
M. a. reticulata Higgins, 1955. [9]
M. a. rhodoleuca Stauder, 1914. [187]
M. a. sachalinensis Matsumura, 1925. [187]
M. a. scardona Fruhstorfer, 1910. [187]
M. a. semiradiata Turati & Verity, 1912. [187]
M. a. sicula Turati, 1915. [187]
M. a. subhelvetica Verity, 1935. [187]
M. a. subluciflua Verity, 1935. [187]
M. a. suessula Fruhstorfer, 1917. [187]
M. a. synexergica Verity, 1930. [187]
M. a. tenuicula Verity, 1919. [187]
M. a. tenuis Verity, 1919. [187]
M. a. tinica Fruhstorfer, 1910. [187]
M. a. veragrorum Verity, 1935. [187]
M. a. vividior Gouin, 1922. [187]

Authors

Initial species uploading to the site: Peter Khramov.

Photos: Vitaly Gumenuk, Andrey Sazykin.

Text data: Peter Khramov.

The species characteristics formalization: Peter Khramov.

References

[1] O. Karsholt, J. Razowski (eds.), 1996. The Lepidoptera of Europe: a distributional checklist
[3] Каталог чешуекрылых (Lepidoptera) России. Под ред. С. Ю. Синёва. СПб.; М.: Товарищество научных изданий КМК, 2008
[9] Tree of Life (funet.fi), 2012
[10] de Jong, Y.S.D.M. (ed.) (2011) Fauna Europaea version 2.4 (faunaeur.org)
[28] Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa (leps.it), 2012
[85] Lepidoptera species catalogue, Lepidoptera.ru, 2015
[187] Species 2000, http://www.sp2000.org